Metro-North Railroad

Metro-North line network

The Metro-North Railroad is a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which operates regional trains , subways, and bus services in and around New York City . The Metro-North, initially Metro-North Commuter Railroad, extends far into the states of New York and Connecticut .

Metro-North operates five main lines: three lines to New Haven, Wassaic and Poughkeepsie as "East of Hudson Service" and two lines to Port Jervis and Spring Valley as "West of Hudson Service", which cross the state of New Jersey. It will travel 412 miles (665 kilometers) and serve 120 stations.

history

Two trains before entering the tunnel to Grand Central Terminal, 2007

In 1971, the states of New York and Connecticut began to subsidize the Penn Central (PC) local traffic on the former line of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad to New Haven, which they took over in 1969 . The route rights were acquired by both states. A year later, the PC suburban lines of the former New York Central to Brewster (Harlem Line) and Poughkeepsie (Hudson Line) received financial support. The routes were leased from PC by the state. These lines begin in the Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan , which was also leased from New York State.

Metro-North was launched in 1983 when the Conrail rail freight operator had given its suburban railways operated in the Northeast Corridor to regional transport authorities. Conrail was the state rescue company of several bankrupt railroad companies in the northeastern United States.

In 1983, the newly founded Metro-North Commuter Railroad acquired not only suburban traffic but also the route rights on the northeast corridor between New York and New Haven. In New Haven there has been a connection to the Amtrak-operated route to Boston since 1990.

The NYC routes in the state of New Jersey were also taken over as West of Hudson Services, whose trains begin at Hoboken Station in Jersey City, with Metro-North using the same train material as New Jersey Transit , but owning and operating the vehicles . This can only be recognized from the vehicle numbers.

Route network

Grand Central Lines

Two-system train of the Metro North M 3 series in New Haven Red

The trains of the Hudson Line and the Amtrak also stop at the Metro-North station in Yonkers.

The three lines starting from the Grand Central Terminal are electrified with a power rail painted from below at 700 volts DC. The New Haven Line is equipped with an AC overhead line from Pelham (west of New Rochelle ). The other two routes are electrified only to Croton-Harmon ( Hudson Line ) and Southeast north of Brewster ( Harlem Line ). The routes to New Canaan, Danbury and Waterbury that branch off from the New Haven Line are not electrified.

Because of the change in the power system, railcars with dual-system equipment are used on the New Haven line . Similar railcars that are only suitable for direct current operation run on the other lines. The non-electrified routes are operated with short diesel shuttle trains. In addition, there are so-called one-seat-ride trains that run continuously to the Grand Central Terminal. These were introduced in 1982 and resulted in an increase in passenger numbers of 38 percent.

The New Haven Line also runs Amtrak express and Acela Express trains, as well as Providence and Worcester Railroad freight trains . Empire Service Amtrak trains to Niagara Falls use the Hudson Line.

Hoboken lines

From Hoboken Station in New Jersey, trains run on the Pascack Valley Line to Spring Valley and the Port Jervis Line over the Moodna Viaduct to Port Jervis . Both lines cross New Jersey before reaching New York state. The Port-Jervis Line is referred to as the Bergen County and Main Line in New Jersey, where it splits in parts . These are operated by Metro-North, but their vehicles are in the colors and with the lettering of the NJ Transit .

Vehicle fleet

Metro North train with Shoreliner carriages

Metro-North uses a diverse fleet of vehicles. S-Bahn -like railcars of the series M1 to M3 and M7 from the years of construction 1968 to today, some of which are equipped with two-system equipment, run on the electrified sections. The vehicles are largely identical to those of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), except that the busbars at Metro-North are painted from below and there are a few pantographs on the roof.

The trains on the non-electrified lines are hauled by locomotives of the series FL 9 from 1957 from EMD and P 32 from General Electric . Both types are dual- powered locomotives for diesel and electrical operation with power from a conductor rail. On the New Haven Line there are also EMD class F 10 diesel locomotives, resulting from a conversion of the F 3 class.

In the West of Hudson Service, Comet wagons of all NJ transit types are used, most of which are pulled by EMD diesel locomotives of the GP series.

As passenger cars, Metro-North only uses Shoreliner I (only with end doors) and Shoreliner II (with additional central doors) cars east of the Hudson River , which are in use on many commuter railways in the northeast. They were built by Bombardier between 1986 and 1996.

particularities

Metro-North locomotives of type FL 9 in New Haven livery

Normally, the Metro-North wagons have a blue ribbon of windows. The locomotives also have a blue base coat in variable colors. On the New Haven Line, by order of the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT), locomotives and wagons in the old New Haven colors are used. The locomotives have the McGinnis color scheme from the 1950s; the car is adorned with a red ribbon of windows, as it used to be on the New Haven car. About half of the vehicle fleet on the New Haven Line belongs to the ConnDOT. The rolling stock of Shoreline East, which also belongs to ConnDOT, is painted in the same way.

future

Possible merger

In 2002 a proposal was made to merge the MTA subsidiaries Metro-North and LIRR to form MTA Rail Road . The merger efforts have so far not been pursued further.

East Side Access

In order to improve the connections from Long Island to Manhattan, a tunnel section of the Long Island Railroad from Queens under the East River to the Grand Central Terminal is currently being built as part of the East Side Access project , whereby a direct change between Metro-North and LIRR trains will be possible. The opening is planned for around 2020.

Penn Station Access

Map of the project

As part of the Penn Station Access project , research is being carried out into utilizing the capacities freed up by East Side Access in New York Pennsylvania Station for Metro North trains and thus enabling direct connections from the north to Midtown Manhattan. To this end, existing Amtrak routes are to be expanded to around 5 km in length. In addition, four new train stations (Co-op City, Morris Park, Parkchester and Hunts Point) are to be built in the Bronx. The first preliminary studies should be completed in 2017.

Accidents

On May 18, 2013, two regional trains to New York collided on the New Haven Line at 18:10 local time. Up to 60 people were injured, some seriously, in the collision.

On December 1, 2013, 7:20 am local time (1:20 pm Central European Time), a Hudson Line train derailed near Spuyten Duyvil Station in the Bronx , New York City . 4 people were killed and 63 injured, some seriously. The train from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central Station drove too fast into the arch in front of Spuyten Duyvil station and derailed as a result.

Web links

Commons : Metro-North Railroad  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Homepage of the MTA for Metro-North

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "MTA Announces Historic Restructuring" MTA press release of October 9, 2002.
2. ^ Website East Side Access Project
3. ^ Metro-North Penn Station Access. (PDF) MTA, February 2014, accessed April 25, 2014 . 
4. ↑ New Haven Line Service Alert ( Memento of the original from May 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ^ Metro-North Trains Collide in Connecticut; Dozens of Injuries Are Reported
6. ↑ MTA Service Alarm ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
7. ^ Message from the BBC
8. ^ Message from the BBC