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SI Railway Thanksgiving Getaway Service Info

Posted by
on November 22nd, 2011 at 8:16 pm

Once again, the MTA Staten Island Railway will be providing their special “Getaway” service for the Thanksgiving holiday. Here is the complete information:

Staten Island customers looking to get a head start on their holiday weekend will be able to catch earlier afternoon express train service on Wednesday, November 23 with Staten Island Railway’s Early Departure Getaway schedule. This schedule means extra SIR trains will be added earlier in the afternoon beginning at 2:31 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. On Thanksgiving Day, November 24, SIR will operate a Sunday schedule, while on Friday, November 25, trains will run on a regular weekday schedule.

The Early Departure Getaway service plan on SIR is also available on the Friday leading into the Memorial Day weekend, the day before Independence Day, the Friday before Labor Day, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MNR Service To Road Race In Southport

Posted by
on November 22nd, 2011 at 8:02 pm

The Metro-North Railroad has announced that for the first time ever, it will provide service to the Pequot Runners’ annual Thanksgiving Day 5-Mile Road Race and Fitness Walk. Here are the details:

Runners, work up your Thanksgiving appetites! For the first time ever, MTA Metro-North Railroad is offering train service to Pequot Runners’ annual Thanksgiving Day 5-Mile Road Race and Fitness Walk in bucolic Southport, Connecticut.

The race begins and ends at the Wakeman Boys & Girls Club, just steps from Metro-North’s Southport Station. It starts at 8:15 a.m., and trains will arrive early enough to give you enough time to pick up your race materials and get warmed up and energized for the race.

A train from Grand Central, stopping at nearly all local stops along the New Haven Line, will arrive at Southport at 7:02 a.m. Post-race trains headed back to the city will depart at 9:25, 10:01 and 10:27 a.m.

Race-bound trains from New Haven making all local stops through Fairfield arrive at Southport at 6:21, 7:00 and 7:25 a.m. Trains returning to these stations after the race depart Southport at 9:20 a.m. and 10:18 a.m.

The race, begun in 1978 and now attracting more than 3,000 participants each year, is one of the largest participatory athletic events in the State of Connecticut. Although Metro-North trains have always served this segment of the New Haven Line on Thanksgiving mornings, this is the first year that existing trains will make specific stops timed to let runners take the train to and from the race.

Avoid the hassle of finding parking at the race event and park at Metro-North’s stations instead! Parking at most New Haven Line stations is free on the holiday.

Runners should try to avoid riding in the first two or last two cars of trains to Southport. Southport Station has short platforms that can accommodate only four cars of a train. On most trains, not all cars reach the platform. Listen carefully for announcements and follow train crew members’ directions when it’s time to exit the train.

For details on train schedules, please visit: http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/pequot.htm

Train Fares:

Those who hold monthly or weekly tickets good for trips to or through any station between Westport and Fairfield ride at no additional charge.

Metro-North encourages you to purchase your one-way or round-trip tickets before boarding.

This table shows one-way and round-trip fares to Southport for tickets purchased at stations. Tickets purchased on board trains are more expensive.

Station – One-Way Fare – Round-Trip Fare:

Stamford through Greens Farms, Bridgeport or Fairfield – $2.25 – $4.50

Stratford or Milford – $2.75 – $5.50

New Haven – $4.25 – $8.50

Grand Central Terminal or Harlem-125th Street (off peak) – $10.75 – $21.50

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Port Jervis Busing Thanksgiving Schedule

Posted by
on November 22nd, 2011 at 7:32 pm

This is the last scheduled week for special bus service on the Port Jervis line due to the damage from Hurricane Irene a few months ago. The other day, the MTA Metro-North announced a special schedule will be in place due to the Thanksgiving holiday:

Unique travel patterns and extra holiday travelers over the Thanksgiving weekend always require a special schedule for Metro-North’s West-of-Hudson customers and this year, the busing between Harriman and Ramsey/Route 17 is an additional wrinkle.

In anticipation of miserable “Black Friday” traffic jams around the Woodbury Common outlet center on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Metro-North is allowing more time in the Port Jervis Line bus schedule to ensure that buses make their train connections in Ramsey/Route 17.

Buses will take a different route to avoid traffic. Buses will get off the Quickway/Route17 at Museum Village Road then go south through Monroe and Harriman villages on 17M.

Even with the extra travel times, customers may experience delays and should allow extra time for travel. Throughout the holiday weekend, take advantage of free parking at Beacon or Cortlandt stations on the Hudson Line, as Port Jervis Line commutation tickets are being honored for travel on the Hudson Line. (On Friday only, customers can use their Port Jervis Line commutation ticket on the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry or the Newburgh-Beacon Shuttle Bus.)

In addition, as Metro-North prepares to restore full train service on Nov. 28, customers may notice trains running on line as the railroad tests the new track and removes rust that has developed since service was suspended after Tropical Storm Irene devastated the line. These trains will not carry passengers.

On Wednesday, November 23, there will be a regular weekday schedule of buses and shuttle trains, with one additional bus connection for customers making the early getaway: The 2:36 PM from Hoboken (2:31 PM from New York-Penn Station Main/Bergen County train), which arrives Ramsey/Route 17 at 3:35 PM, will have bus connections for all stations between Sloatsburg and Port Jervis.

Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, is a normal holiday schedule with an extra round trip bus-train connection for parade goers. Inbound, additional bus service from all stations will connect with the 7:17 AM from Ramsey/Route 17, and arrive in Hoboken at 8:19 AM and at New York-Penn Station at 8:32 AM. Outbound, the 12:25 PM from Hoboken (12:14 PM from New York Penn Station Main), which arrives Ramsey Route 17 at 1:29 PM, will have bus connections for all stations between Sloatsburg and Port Jervis. (These additions are shown in the current November 6th Port Jervis Line Post-Storm Interim Service timetable.)

Between Friday, November 25 and Sunday, November 27, eastbound buses (to Ramsey/Route 17) will depart their stations earlier than shown in the published schedules, to allow for traffic and additional travel time in the Monroe-Harriman area associated with heavy shopping crowds visiting the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets Center in Central Valley.

Traffic is typically tied up for miles around, and therefore buses will take different routes, avoiding NY Route 17 (the Quickway) and the NYS Thruway. We will publish special bus/train schedules on the MTA web site and on station posters.

And here’s something to be thankful for: On Monday, November 28, full Port Jervis Line train service resumes.

The Pascack Valley Line:

On Wednesday, November 23, Metro-North will operate a regular weekday schedule, with one additional outbound train for customers making an early getaway: 2:51 PM from Hoboken (2:33 PM from New York-Penn Station), arriving Spring Valley at 4:02 PM. To accommodate this train, the 5:55 PM from Hoboken/5:44 from New York-Penn Station will not operate.

On Thanksgiving Day, November 24, the Pascack Valley Line will operate on a regular holiday (Sunday) schedule.

On “Black Friday,” November 25, a regular weekday schedule is in effect.

On Saturday and Sunday, November 26 & 27, a regular weekend schedule is in effect.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 11-21-11

Posted by
on November 21st, 2011 at 5:01 am

I just updated the Service Diversions by removing all of the work that wrapped up a minute ago.

The amount of work is light this week since Thanksgiving is a few days away. The next major update should be sometime on Wednesday as I assume the MTA will issue the press release with the scheduled diversions by then instead of the typical Thursday release.

If I see anything worth noting while out, I will update it on the Transit Blogger Twitter feed which you can follow by searching for @TransitBlogger or clicking the button in the sidebar.

Stay safe & have a wonderful week!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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TWU President Samuelsen Talks Negotiations

Posted by
on November 21st, 2011 at 4:44 am

Over the years, I have covered the never ending war between the MTA & Transport Workers Union. The latest round in that war is looming as negotiations for a new labor deal are right around the corner. A few days ago, TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen went on The Brian Lehrer Show to discuss the negotiations.

The interview is what I expected it to be which is mostly John echoing his displeasure for former MTA CEO Jay Walder while maintaining the union’s hard line stance of not giving into threats from the MTA in terms of wage freezes & layoffs. He feels optimistic about the upcoming negotiating process with interim MTA CEO & Chairman Joseph Lhota. This is an interesting stance considering Mr. Lhota’s reputation for being an extreme cost cutter.

In my opinion, the highlight of the interview focused on John’s mention of the union having no intention of striking as it did in 2005. While he did not come out & promise that, it does seem like it would take something going extremely wrong for that to be an option. Hopefully that is the case as the last thing any of us wants to see is a repeat of 2005 unless it is absolutely necessary.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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