MTA Metro-North Railroad is advising customers that buses will substitute for trains on the New Canaan Branch on the three weekends of April 21-23, 28-30, and May 5-7. Substitute bus service on all weekends will begin at 11 p.m. on Fridays and last through the last train of the night on Sundays. Stamford-bound buses will operate 15-20 minutes earlier than scheduled trains. Customers should listen for announcements and check local or express bus service to their destination while boarding.

The weekend service change will help ensure the on-going reliability and safety of the New Canaan Branch. Metro-North crews will be replacing a switch in Stamford, which will obstruct train movement to New Canaan. This weekend’s work is part of the railroad’s larger, continuing switch replacement program; this program keeps locations were the tracks meet or cross in a state of good repair. Crews will take advantage of the branch outage to cut brush and trees, weld joints and improve drainage.

To Stamford
Bus service will begin on Friday evenings with an 11:10 p.m. bus that will substitute for the 11:28 p.m. train from New Canaan to Stamford, making all station stops to Stamford where it will connect with the regularly scheduled 11:56 p.m. train at Stamford.

Throughout the weekend, buses will operate up to 20 minutes earlier than normal train times. At Stamford station, customers will connect with regularly scheduled train service.

For a detailed bus schedule, customers may visit:

http://web.mta.info/mnr/pdf/NewCanaanBus%203_8.pdf

To New Canaan
Bus service will begin on Friday evenings after 11 p.m. and continue through the last train of the day on Sunday. Buses will depart from the Stamford station at regularly scheduled train times. For a detailed bus schedule, customers may visit:

http://web.mta.info/mnr/pdf/NewCanaanBus%203_8.pdf

Many Channels for Services Updates

Metro-North reminds its customers that information about planned service changes such as this one are available in many ways: 

• Email and text message service updates – Customers are urged to sign up to receive the alerts by visiting 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.