MTA Metro-North Railroad today announced that crews will be out in force making comprehensive improvements to the Port Jervis Line beginning Monday, April 9, and continuing through Friday, May 4.

During this period, Metro-North crews will undertake an important rock slope remediation project, inspecting and reinforcing the rock slopes adjacent to the tracks between Port Jervis and Ramsey Route 17 to ensure that they’re free of any loose rocks and brush that could fall on to the tracks and cause delays.  

Elsewhere along the line, crews will replace timbers at the Pond Brook Bridge, which is south of Sloatsburg, and renew railroad ties.  

As a result of these improvements, buses will substitute for weekday off-peak trains between Port Jervis and Suffern beginning on Monday, April 9, and continuing through Friday, May 4, as well as on the weekends of April 14-15 and April 28-29.

Service details are below:

Weekdays to Orange County

Buses will substitute for trains beginning with the 8:28 a.m. departure from Hoboken. Train service resumes with the 4:08 p.m. departure from Hoboken. Customers for all stations from Sloatsburg through Port Jervis will be able to connect with buses at Ramsey Route 17.

Buses will depart Ramsey Route 17 approximately five minutes after the connecting train arrives and travel directly to each Port Jervis Line station.

Customers may view the weekday busing schedule at:
http://web.mta.info/mnr/pdf/PortJ_weekday_418.pdf

Weekdays to Hoboken

Buses will substitute for trains beginning with the 9:26 a.m. departure from Port Jervis. Train service resumes with the 9:27 p.m. train from Port Jervis.

Buses will depart stations at the scheduled train time and travel to Ramsey Route 17, where customers will connect with continuing regularly scheduled train service.

Customers may view the weekday busing schedule at: 
http://web.mta.info/mnr/pdf/PortJ_weekday_418.pdf

Weekends to Orange County: April 14-15, 28-29

Buses will substitute for trains beginning Saturdays with the 9:21 a.m. train from Hoboken and continue through Sundays until the 12:40 a.m. train from Hoboken on Monday mornings. Orange County-bound buses will depart Ramsey Route 17 Station approximately five minutes after the connecting train arrives and travel directly to each Port Jervis Line station.

Two connecting morning trains will leave Hoboken and New York, Penn Station 20 minutes earlier than regularly scheduled trains:

• The train normally scheduled to depart Hoboken at 9:21 a.m. will leave 20 minutes earlier, at 9:01 a.m., and the New York connecting train will depart Penn Station at 8:51 a.m. instead of the usually scheduled 9:14 a.m.
• The train normally scheduled to depart Hoboken at 11:21 a.m. will leave 20 minutes earlier, at 11:01 a.m., and the New York connecting train will depart Penn Station at 10:54 a.m., instead of the usually scheduled 11:14 a.m.

The 4:04 p.m. train from Hoboken will be cancelled between Hoboken and Suffern. The 1:19 p.m. train from Hoboken will add a stop at Ramsey Route 17.

Customers may view the weekend busing schedule at: 
http://web.mta.info/mnr/pdf/PortJ_weekend_418.pdf

Weekends to Hoboken: April 14-15, 28-29

Buses will substitute for trains beginning with the train normally departing from Port Jervis at 4:45 a.m. Saturday, and will continue through Sunday; service resumes with the train departing Port Jervis at 3:50 a.m. on Monday.

Buses will depart stations at the scheduled train departure times and travel to Ramsey Route 17, where customers will transfer to trains. Note: The 8:47 a.m. and 6:52 p.m. trains from Suffern to Hoboken will be cancelled. For service, customers should board the next available train at Ramsey Route 17. In addition, the 4:32 p.m. train departing Suffern will stop at Ramsey Route 17.

Customers may view the weekend busing schedule at: 
http://web.mta.info/mnr/pdf/PortJ_weekend_418.pdf

Many Channels for Service Updates

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

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.

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.