Metro-North promises new schedules, reopened tracks will improve servi

[BrianPR3]

Metro-North promises new schedules, reopened tracks will improve service New schedules go into effect May 11 — some that shorten rides, some that prolong others — while all tracks between Bridgeport and Southport, Conn., will also be open simultaneously for the first time in four years. BY PETE DONOHUE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, April 28, 2014, 10:56 AM
Metro-North vowed its new schedule would improve on-time service.

Metro-North Railroad will be more reliable with the completion of two major track projects and the implementation of new schedules, officials pledged Monday.

All four tracks in the Bronx have been improved, allowing trains to go 75 mph again, officials said.

For the first time in four years, all tracks between Bridgeport and Southport, Conn., will be in service next month. Contractors have replaced the overhead catenary wires that power the trains and rebuilt four bridges on the New Haven Line.

JOHN MINCHILLO/APSome Metro-North trains in the Bronx would be allowed to run at speeds of 75 mph again, according to officials.
The new schedule will go into effect May 11, officials said. It accounts for actual operating conditions and new mandatory speed restrictions imposed after the December derailment in the Bronx that killed four riders. Some trip times will decrease and others will increase, officials said. But overall the railroad will be better able to arrive on time, officials said.

"Since I returned to Metro-North two months ago, our customers have consistently said they want to be able to rely on our schedules again and that's exactly what these changes aim to do," Metro-North President Joseph Giulietti said. "We have analyzed train performance with an eye to bottlenecks, permanent speed reductions, actual running times, customer requests and the need to provide sufficient time to allow ongoing track and infrastructure improvements. We believe the new schedule will result in substantially improved performance."

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http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/metro-north-reopen-tracks-new-schedules-article-1.1771463#ixzz30DFWatOQ

will this also help amtrak out regarding 66/67 running diesels?

 

[afigg]

will this also help amtrak out regarding 66/67 running diesels?

I don't see what this project completion really has to do with the 66/67 trains running diesels. Those trains run diesel locomotives when there is catenary work north of New Haven. The New Haven Line has a far busier schedule, so shutting off power to the catenary for all 4 tracks for catenary work is not something I think MNRR and CTDOT do very often (well, not intentionally anyway).
The completion of the Bridgeport to Southport segment project with the return to service of all 4 tracks is more significant to the Acela and the other NYP-BOS Regional trip times and schedule keeping. The current Acela NYP-BOS trip times of circa 3:37 are slower than they were a few years ago. Would be nice to get the Acela NYP-BOS times back to under 3 and a half hours, just so there is some visible progress being made on the NEC.

 

[jis]

The completion of the Bridgeport to Southport segment project with the return to service of all 4 tracks is more significant to the Acela and the other NYP-BOS Regional trip times and schedule keeping. The current Acela NYP-BOS trip times of circa 3:37 are slower than they were a few years ago. Would be nice to get the Acela NYP-BOS times back to under 3 and a half hours, just so there is some visible progress being made on the NEC.

That is unlikely to happen until PTC is operational on MNRR. The good news is that PTC is now scheduled to be put in service on MNRR and LIRR by 2017, instead of the previous plan of doing so by 2019. It is amazing what a few mishaps can do to a well laid out plan of obstruction.