Metro-North Railroad advises customers that from Monday, October 8, through Friday, October 12, Metro-North crews will make safety upgrades and comprehensive improvements to the Waterbury Branch. 

 

Crews will install antenna poles that are required in order to make Positive Train Control operational on the branch.  Positive Train Control is a technology designed to reduce the potential for human error that can lead to train-involved accidents.  

 

In addition to making this safety upgrade, Metro-North crews will install a new side track in Beacon Falls that will allow trains to pass each other, improving branch operability.  Elsewhere along the branch, crews will install new ties between Derby and Devon Bridge, lay long sections of rail on track curves near Derby, cut trees and weld joints.  Metro-North crews will take advantage of this outage to perform fleet maintenance.

 

“Track maintenance and infrastructure improvements are crucial to the on-going safety and reliability of the Waterbury Branch,” said James Redeker, Connecticut State Department of Transportation Commissioner.   “Metro-North crews will be out on the branch ensuring the best possible service for Waterbury Branch customers.”

 

To accommodate this maintenance to the Waterbury Branch, buses will substitute for trains traveling between Waterbury and Bridgeport from Monday, October 8, through Friday, October 12.  Bridgeport-bound bus service will operate 15-30 minutes earlier than scheduled trains.

 

Regular southbound service resumes on Saturday, October 13, with the 7:10 a.m. train from Waterbury, and the regular northbound service resumes on Saturday, October 13, with the 8:44 a.m. train from Bridgeport.

 

Service details are below: 

 

Bridgeport-bound: Buses will substitute for all trains departing from Waterbury and will make all scheduled stops to Bridgeport.   Buses will operate up to 15-30 minutes earlier than scheduled trains. Customers will connect at Bridgeport to regularly scheduled trains for continuing service to Grand Central Terminal.

 

Waterbury-bound: Buses will depart from the Bridgeport station and make 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.

 

For a detailed schedule link, customers may visit:

 

Information about the planned schedule 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.