New York, NY - February 13th, 2014 - The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is announcing service changes related to the winter storm that is causing snow accumulations and high winds throughout the region. Details of each change are listed below. Schedule details will be posted on the mta.info website later this afternoon.
New York City Subway N Line Temporarily Suspended.
- MTA New York City Transit has temporarily suspended service on the N Sea Beach Line in Brooklyn south of 36 St. Southbound (Coney Island-bound) N trains will run via the D Line south of 36 St.
- Service is suspended in order to dispatch snowblowers to remove accumulated snow and ice from the tracks and third rail. Once the snow is cleared from the southbound track, normal southbound service will resume and the snowblowers will head north to clear snow from the northbound track. Northbound (Manhattan-bound) N trains will then run on the D Line from Coney Island-Stillwell Av to 36 St. NYCT hopes to resume normal service in time for the p.m. peak.
- The N Sea Beach Line, along with other “open cut” outdoor lines, is more vulnerable to accumulating snow and ice. We are also closely monitoring conditions on the A, S Rockaway, 7 Flushing, B, Q Brighton, and 5 Dyre Av lines for potential suspensions for snow removal.
- In addition, Bronx 6 Express subway service and Queens 7 Express subway service is suspended. All service on those lines will be local until further notice.
After tonight’s p.m. peak, subway trains will be moved and stored underground on express tracks and express service will be impacted on portions of certain lines into Friday. De-icers – retired subway cars modified with tanks and other specialized equipment to spray de-icing fluid on the third rail – are already in operation. Additionally, subway trains will be equipped with scraper shoes during overnight hours to keep ice off the third rail.
Metro-North Will Provide Hourly Service Beginning at 4 p.m.
- MTA Metro-North Railroad will begin hourly service at 4 p.m. today due to higher-than-predicted snow accumulations of up to 18 inches in its service territory. Metro-North may need to further reduce or suspend service on some portions of its territory if conditions warrant.
- Just a third of Metro-North Railroad customers took trains to New York this morning. The railroad’s service plan provides sufficient capacity to get everyone home. The current 75% reduced schedule remains in effect until 4 p.m. Changing weather conditions may lead to additional trains being combined.
- Metro-North will rely heavily on its diesel fleet. Snow blowers and patrol trains are operating to clear the tracks, but higher-than-predicted rates of snowfall have the potential to affect service.
Long Island Rail Road Restoring Service Between Hicksville and Huntington and Adding Four Extra Trains
MTA Long Island Rail Road is restoring hourly service between Hicksville & Huntington and plans to run on two hour intervals between Huntington and Port Jeff. We continue to see higher accumulations on Huntington branch and may be cancelling Westbound service on Port Jeff branch for the PM to give us more flexibility for the Eastbound PM service on that branch.
The LIRR is adding four extra early-afternoon eastbound trains today starting with the 2:08 p.m. train from Penn Station to Huntington. The four extra trains include three on the Babylon Branch, and one on the Port Washington Branch.
The LIRR provided a regular AM Peak schedule of trains this morning and plans to provide the regular complement of trains for the PM Peak as well, though customers should expect weather related delays and allow extra travel time. Here is the lineup of extra, early afternoon eastbound trains from Penn Station.
Babylon Branch – Three Trains
- 2:33 p.m. will run express to Lynbrook then local to Babylon
- 3:01 p.m. will stop at Jamaica, Rockville Centre and then run local to Babylon
- 3:32 p.m. will run express to Rockville Centre then local to Babylon
Port Washington Branch – One Train
- 3:41 p.m. will stop at Woodside, Flushing-Main Street, then all stops to Great Neck.
The most up-to-date information on MTA service status is always available at www.mta.info. For immediate notice of service changes, sign up for email or text alerts at www.mymtaalerts.com. For weekend subway service changes, visit www.mta.info/weekender.