MTA Metro-North Railroad advises customers that crews will make infrastructure improvements to the New Canaan Branch this weekend. 

 

As part of the complete upgrade of the New Canaan Branch signal system, crews will continue   fiber optic installation work. The new fiber optic system needs to be in place to support Positive Train Control operations on the New Canaan Branch.  Positive Train Control is a technology designed to reduce the potential for human error that can lead to train-involved accidents.  

 

Metro-North crews will take advantage of the service outage to re-surface track so that a speed restriction can be removed; they’ll also cut brush, trim trees and weld track.

To accommodate this work, substitute busing will be provided between New Canaan and Stamford stations after 10:50 p.m. on Friday, March 22. Regular train service resumes on Monday with the 6:28 a.m. train from New Canaan and the 6:53 a.m. train from Stamford.

 

Buses traveling to Stamford will operate 15-20 minutes earlier than scheduled trains. At Stamford station, customers will connect with continuing train service to Grand Central Terminal.

 

Regular train service will resume on Monday morning with the 5:31 a.m. train from New Canaan and the 8:18 a.m. train from Stamford, which departs from Grand Central Terminal at 7:08 a.m. 

 

Service details are below:

 

After 10:00 p.m. on Friday, March 22, buses will replace all trains departing from Stamford to New Canaan. 

 

On Saturday and Sunday, March 23-24, customers seeking to travel to Glenbrook, Springdale, Talmadge Hill or New Canaan, will connect with substitute bus service at the Stamford station.

 

Buses will depart from the Stamford station at regularly scheduled train times.

 

For a detailed bus schedule, customers may visit:

 

On Friday, March 22, a bus departing from New Canaan at 11:10 p.m. will substitute for the 11:28 p.m. train from New Canaan to Stamford, making all station stops to Stamford.  Bus service will connect with the regularly scheduled 11:56 p.m. train at Stamford.  

 

On Saturday and Sunday, March 23-24, substitute bus service will be provided for all trains departing from New Canaan to Stamford.

 

Buses will operate up to 20 minutes earlier than normal train times. At Stamford station, customers will connect with continuing train service to Grand Central Terminal.

 

For a detailed bus schedule, customers may visit:

 

Information about the planned service change noted in this press release, and all planned service changes, is available through Metro-North Railroad’s real-time service information sources:

 

MYmta app – Customers who use the new, comprehensive MYmta app will see real-time travel information for Metro-North and connecting services all in one place, with push notifications when service is not operating normally. As a caution, trains that start out their trips on time may experience delays en route. The Metro-North Train Time app also remains available for customers to access Metro-North train information.

 

MTA.info  – The rail tab of the “Service Status” box at new.MTA.info is always the definitive source for the latest status for each line, updated every minute. In addition, customers can visit www.mta.info/mnr to see special service notices in the upper center of the page.

 

Email and text message service updates – Customers are urged to sign up to receive the alerts by visiting MyMTAAlerts.com. To avoid unwanted messages, a user can tailor the messages to the specific branch, and the specific times of day.

 

@MetroNorth on Twitter – Twitter users can follow @MetroNorth to receive updates of a similar nature to the email and text alerts, shortened to fit Twitter’s format.

 

The above communications channels can be accessed while at home or on the go. For customers who are located at stations, Metro-North will post the latest service updates on digital signs at station platforms and will make audio announcements over public address systems, and on-board announcements made by train crews.

 

For those who prefer the telephone, information is available from the Metro-North’s Customer Service Center by calling 511, the New York State Travel Information Line, and saying: “Metro-North Railroad.” For customers calling from Connecticut, the number is: 877-690-5114.  Those who are deaf or hard of hearing can use their preferred service provider for the free 711 relay to reach Metro-North at 511.