Over the next four weekends, Metro-North crews will make extensive improvements to the branch, including renewing three railroad crossings in Milford. Crews will replace the crossing surfaces, rails and ties at each location. Crews will also upgrade the Washington Avenue Bridge in Waterbury with new timbers. Elsewhere along the tracks, crews will cut brush and weld rail joints.

 

As a result of these track improvements, during the next four weekends, buses will substitute for trains on the Waterbury Branch. Substitute bus service will begin after 8:30 p.m. on Friday,   and regular Waterbury Branch train service will resume with the first scheduled train on Monday.   

 

Southbound buses will operate 15-30 minutes earlier than scheduled trains and will meet regularly scheduled trains at Bridgeport. Northbound buses will depart from Bridgeport at the usual train departure times after receiving customers from New Haven Line trains; customers should allow for 15-40 minutes of additional travel time to reach their destination stations. Metro-North urges customers to listen for announcements and check bus destinations while boarding.

 

Service details are below.

 

Southbound: A bus departing from Waterbury at 10:02 p.m. will substitute for the 10:05 p.m. train. Buses departing from all station stops from Naugatuck to Derby-Shelton will operate 15-30 minutes earlier than scheduled trains. At the Bridgeport station, customers will connect with the regularly scheduled 11:08 p.m. to Grand Central Terminal.

 

Northbound: Trains departing from Grand Central Terminal at 6:53 p.m. and 9:39 p.m. will connect with buses at the Bridgeport station for continuing service to the Waterbury station.  Buses are scheduled to meet the arriving trains.  Buses will stop at the normal train station stops, but will operate between 10-20 minutes later, depending upon the destination.  The bus connecting from the 9:39 p.m. train from Grand Central Terminal, departing Bridgeport at 11:20 p.m., will operate between 15-40 minutes later, depending on destination. 

 

Train and bus departure times are available at this link: 

 

Saturdays and Sundays: July 15-16, 22-23, 29-30 and August 5-6:

Southbound: Buses will depart from the Waterbury station at: 7:06 a.m., 9:59 a.m., 1:06 p.m., 4:06 p.m., 7:06 p.m. and 10:06 p.m.  Buses departing from all station stops from Naugatuck to Derby-Shelton will operate up to 20 minutes earlier than scheduled trains. At Bridgeport, customers will connect with regularly scheduled trains for continuing service to Grand Central Terminal.

 

Northbound: Buses will depart from the Bridgeport station for all regularly scheduled stops to the Waterbury station.  Buses are timed to meet scheduled trains, but the trip could take an additional 5-25 minutes, depending upon the destination.

 

Train and bus departure times are available at this link: 

http://web.mta.info/mnr/pdf/WaterburyBus7_3_rev.pdf  

 

Metro-North has many channels for all schedule information and service updates.  

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.

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

 

@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.

 

Metro-North Train Time app – Customers who use the Metro-North Train Time app will see up-to-the-minute status for each upcoming train at each station. The app is available via the Apple Store for iOS devices or Google Play Store for Android along with MTA eTix - Metro-North Railroad’s mobile ticketing app which allows customers to buy Metro-North tickets on their mobile device -- anytime, anywhere. As a caution, trains that start out their trips on time may experience delays en route.

 

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.