Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) trains and buses will operate on special schedules during the New Year’s holiday weekend, with extra service to help customers enjoy the weekend and celebrate the New Year.

 

Additional details, organized by day, appear below and additional press releases from the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad contain further details. All schedule details are also available via the MYmta smartphone app.

Also for holiday travelers, as part of the Port Authority’s measures to alleviate roadway congestion at LaGuardia Airport during the peak holiday travel rush, MTA New York City Transit’s LaGuardia Link Q70 Select Bus Service is fare-free through January 1. The LaGuardia Link provides non-stop service linking the main terminals of the airport (Terminals B, C and D) with New York City Subway at the Jackson Hts-Roosevelt Av  station and the 61 St-Woodside  station-Long Island Rail Road stop in Queens.

 

 

To help customers get a head start on the weekend, the Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad and Staten Island Railway are adding additional afternoon service.

 

The Long Island Rail Road will operate 13 extra trains departing Penn Station between 12:46 p.m. and 3:48 p.m. and Metro-North Railroad will operate 18 extra trains departing Grand Central Terminal between 12:58 p.m. and 4:10 p.m. For additional details, please see the attached press releases from the LIRR and Metro-North.

 

MTA Staten Island Railway customers looking to get a head start on their New Year’s Eve plans will be able to catch earlier afternoon express train service on Friday, December 28 with SIR’s Early Departure Getaway schedule. Extra SIR trains will be added earlier in the afternoon beginning at 2:30 p.m. from the St. George Ferry Terminal. There will be one express train and one local train awaiting every boat until 7:50 p.m. 

 

 

To help customers get a head start on the weekend the Long Island Rail Road and Staten Island Railway are adding additional afternoon service. The Long Island Rail Road will operate 13 extra trains departing Penn Station between 12:46 p.m. and 3:48 p.m. For additional details please see the attached press release from the Long Island Rail Road.

 

MTA Staten Island Railway customers looking to get a head start on their New Year’s Eve plans will be able to catch earlier afternoon express train service on Monday, December 31 with SIR’s Early Departure Getaway schedule. Extra SIR trains will be added earlier in the afternoon beginning at 2:30 p.m. from the St. George Ferry Terminal. There will be one express train and one local train awaiting every boat until 7:50 p.m.

 

 

To help customers travel to New Year’s Eve festivities in New York City, the Long Island Rail Road is operating 21 extra trains to Penn Station and Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn, and Metro-North is operating three extra trains to Grand Central. For additional details please see the attached press releases from the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad.

 

The MTA is the best way for revelers to get to Times Square on New Year’s Eve, and to travel home afterwards. The MTA strongly recommends that customers purchase their MetroCards or train tickets in advance.

 

The New York City Subway and Staten Island Railway will operate on a regular weekday schedule. Some New York City buses will operate on a reduced weekday schedule. All local, express, limited-stop, and Select Bus Service will run with minor adjustments in departure times.

 

Customers heading to Times Square for the celebration should avoid using the 42 St-Times Square subway complex, since they may not be allowed to exit onto the street. In addition, the northbound platform at 50 St  and both north and southbound platforms at 49 St  will be closed from noon until shortly after midnight. Riders are urged to exit from stations at 50 St, or 57 St and walk to Times Square. Details on how to get to/from Times Square are available here. Additional subway service will be provided on the  lines. Station entrances in the Times Square area are subject to closure based on instructions from the New York Police Department.

 

Buses are not recommended for traveling to Times Square because of the numerous street closures in the area. Buses travelling throughout Midtown, including Staten Island express buses, will be affected. The following bus routes will be the most severely impacted and subject to reroutes: M5, M7, M10, M20, M31, M42, M50, M57, and M104. Regular overnight bus service will resume as streets reopen after midnight.

 

As a reminder to  and  customers, the 53 Street  Tunnel signal upgrades and maintenance work will be completed by 5 a.m. on December 31. These infrastructure upgrades had been scheduled during this holiday week of lower ridership to limit any customer inconvenience. Regularly scheduled service – with New Year’s Eve service enhancements – will be in place well before the nighttime festivities begin on New Year’s Eve.

 

 

To help customers departing from New Year’s Eve festivities, between midnight and 5:30 a.m., Metro-North Railroad is operating 48 extra trains departing Grand Central and the Long Island Rail Road is operating 19 extra trains departing Penn Station and Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn. Metro-North will also operate 14 extra trains inbound toward NYC during this timeframe. For additional details please see the attached press releases from the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad.

 

Following the celebration, trains on lines in and around Times Square will run every 8 to 12 minutes as late as 3 a.m. The 42nd Street shuttle  will operate all night.

 

For the remainder of the day, the LIRR will operate on a weekend/holiday schedule and Metro-North will operate on hourly on the Harlem, Hudson and New Haven Lines, with six additional trains on the New Haven Line. For additional details please see the attached press releases from the LIRR and Metro-North.

 

New York City subways, buses and the Staten Island Railway will operate on a Sunday schedule.  As a reminder, some subway lines do not run on weekends, and there are many bus routes that either do not operate on a Sunday or do not run on part of the route at certain hours. More details on subway and bus service are available here. For up-to-date travel information for both subways and buses, customers should check our website at www.mta.info for Current Service Status, or use TripPlanner+. Subway and bus customers are encouraged to download the MYmta smartphone app to track real-time bus positions and get subway and bus arrival times.