Crews Have Been Working Around the Clock Since Early Thursday to Restore Infrastructure Damaged by Record Rainfall From Remnants of Hurricane Ida
Trains to Operate Every Half Hour at All Hudson Line Stations During AM/PM Commutes and Hourly at Other Times
Restoration of Two of Four Tracks Also Allows Amtrak to Resume Empire Service and CSX to Resume Freight Service
Two Tracks Remain Out of Service Between Riverdale and Tarrytown While Restoration Work Continues
MTA Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi today announced that Hudson Line service will resume for the morning commute on Tuesday, Sept. 7. The first trains to operate since the remnants of Hurricane Ida unleashed record-setting rains in the region on the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 1, will begin operating Tuesday shortly after 4 a.m. Trains will operate every half hour in each direction during main commute times and hourly at other times to all stations from Croton-Harmon south. Poughkeepsie service will be hourly at all times.
To find schedules, customers should look to MTA.info, Metro-North Train Time app and the MYmta app where schedules will be posted this afternoon.
Following initial post-storm inspections and clearance of trees, vegetation and debris from the tracks, MTA crew members and contractors have spent the past 105 hours restoring slopes and ballast that had been washed out by floodwaters at multiple locations throughout the Hudson Line, installing 600 cubic yards of heavy stone fill to stabilize areas surrounding tracks for safe operation. Much of the work has been at Greystone, where waters cascaded down from Warburton Avenue creating a mudslide onto the tracks. (View a gallery of images.)
“The heroes of this story are the employees from Metro-North, MTA Construction & Development and contractors who have worked around the clock since the storm to get our service restored as quickly as possible following a historic amount of rainfall,” President Rinaldi said. “I thank all of the employees and contractors who have been out there for their dedication to getting our customers moving again.”
The railroad will operate with two of its four tracks in service between Riverdale and Tarrytown, where the northbound express and local tracks remain out of service. Customers in this section will notice crews have erected temporary metal walkways – known among railroad personnel as bridge plates – that will connect from northbound platforms to operating tracks, bridging tracks that are out of service.
The MTA’s work to restore the line also allows for Amtrak Empire Corridor service to resume tomorrow along with the Lake Shore Limited, Maple Leaf, and other trains that use the line, and it allows CSX to resume freight service, including the transportation of waste generated in the Bronx out of New York City for deposit in landfills.
Service on the Harlem Line and New Haven Line, where damage was less pronounced, resumed on Friday morning, Sept. 3.