Red Headed Step Child

     A fellow commuter brought this to my attention yesterday. I was home due to the New Haven line being suspended after yet another snowstorm (all other lines operating on a delayed schedule). New train cars have been ordered, Westchester and Long Island have them. Why is Metro North the red headed stepchild of the MTA? Below is a letter from the MTA explaining cancellations, delays and other problems.

An Explanation for the Recent Cold Weather's Impact on New Haven Line Service

This winter’s extreme cold temperatures and large amounts of snow have presented numerous challenges that go beyond clearing our yards, switches, and station platforms. The extreme weather causes the electronic and air systems on our 40-year-old-plus New Haven Line fleet to fail.

The impact on service may have or will result in your train being short of cars, which means fewer seats and crowded conditions. In the worst case, your train can be delayed or cancelled.
The repairs required to put cars back in service will be varied, but the cold weather’s impacts to the most vulnerable components are consistent:

• Traction motors must be repaired or replaced – a job that routinely takes anywhere from eight to 16 hours to complete.


• Brakes freeze and get stuck from the extreme cold.


• Doors won’t close properly because the snow and ice that gets inside the door pockets prevents them from opening or closing on command.

There are no quick fixes. The repairs and component replacements involve a lot of time to accomplish. Many require major maintenance, and our employees are working around-the-clock to make repairs. Our goal is to provide reliable service with the equipment that we have available.

When we have significant car shortages due to the extreme cold and snow, as we have had recently, we are forced to decide whether we can operate all our trains with less cars or whether we must cancel trains. Unfortunately, this week we will have to do both.
We promise to keep you informed of service changes. We urge you to visit our website for regular updates, and where you can sign up for our email notification system and use Metro-North Train Time™ for real-time train status. Also, continue to listen for station announcements.