Today, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) announced that a new schedule will take effect on Sunday, August 29, on the New Haven Line (operated by Metro-North Railroad), and train schedule enhancements will take effect on Monday, August 30, on the Hartford Line.
New Haven Line customers will see an increase in weekday train service to approximately 82% of pre-pandemic levels, an increase of about 40 trains, bringing the total number of weekday trains to 246 trains. Weekend train service will return to pre-pandemic service levels. Weekday direct service to Grand Central Terminal (GCT) from the New Canaan Line will resume with six through trains southbound to GCT and five through trains northbound to New Canaan. The Danbury Line will return to pre-pandemic levels and busing will continue on the Waterbury Line through the Fall of 2021.
New Haven Line service details are below:
- Increase in total train service to approximately 82%
- New Canaan Line through train service will resume with six southbound through trains to GCT and five northbound through trains departing GCT to New Canaan
- Danbury Line returns to pre-pandemic levels with four southbound through trains into GCT and four northbound through trains departing GCT to Danbury
On the Hartford Line, CTtransit Express bus route 950 will now accept CTrail single ride, weekly, and monthly tickets. CTtransit Express bus route 950 details are below:
- Hartford Station: Bus arrives and departs Hartford Union Station on Spruce Street (exit through Bus Terminal)
- Meriden Station: Bus arrives and departs Meriden Station at Meriden Transit Center on State Street
- New Haven State Street Station: Bus arrives and departs Chapel Street west of State Street, across from State Street Station
- New Haven Union Station: Bus arrives and departs New Haven Union Station Bus Terminal
- The 950 Express does not serve Wallingford, Meriden, Berlin or stations north of Hartford
All rail customers are encouraged to pre-purchase their rail tickets before boarding using Ticket Vending Machines, the CTrail eTix mobile app for CTrail Hartford Line and connecting New Haven Line (Metro-North) trains, or the MTA eTix mobile app. The CTrail eTix mobile app now accepts Apple and Google Pay.
CTDOT and Metro-North Railroad would like to remind customers to always wear a mask or face covering at train stations and when traveling on the train. Customers who feel sick should not use public transportation.
The updated New Haven Line train schedule is available at www.mta.info/mnr and the updated Hartford Line schedule is available at www.hartfordline.com. Customers are encouraged to check the schedules and status of service before they travel.
For information on how to use the MTA eTix app visit www.mta.info/mta-etix.
Many Ways to Stay Connected:
Information about the planned schedule change noted in this press release, and all planned service changes, is available through Metro-North Railroad’s real-time service information sources.
MYmta app & MTA.info – Customers who use the new, comprehensive MYmta app will see real-time travel information for Metro-North and connecting services all in one place, with push notifications when service is not operating normally. As a caution, trains that start out their trips on time may experience delays en route. The Metro-North Train Time app also remains available for customers to access Metro-North train information. The rail tab of the “Service Status” box at new.MTA.info is always the definitive source for the latest status for each line, updated every minute. The MYmta app also now features real-time car-by-car seating capacity information for the New Haven Line, guiding customers to cars with the most available seats on a train before boarding.
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.
@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.
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 in Connecticut by calling 877-690-5114, and saying: “Metro-North Railroad.” Those who are deaf or hard of hearing can use their preferred service provider for the free 711 relay to reach Metro-North at 877-690-5114.
Please visit the Hartford Line website to view current schedules and to check and sign up for service alerts. Information about all rail services in Connecticut is available at CTrail.com.
