New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the MTA announced on Sunday, Oct. 22, that the MTA Metro-North Railroad will operate on a near-normal weekday schedule on Monday, Oct. 23, following a mudslide that occurred in Scarborough on Saturday, as reported, which prevented trains from operating between Tarrytown and Croton-Harmon. To reduce the potential for congestion-related delays, the governor said the railroad is adjusting schedules and canceling four of the 158 trains the railroad operates on the line daily, and during peak hours, trains that operate in the reverse-peak direction will operate express between Tarrytown and Croton-Harmon.

 

“In the face of dangerous weather and a looming deadline, our MTA team worked around-the-clock to restore the safe, reliable service New Yorkers count on,” Hochul said. “Hundreds of thousands of commuters will be able to use Metro-North to commute to work Monday morning because of this extraordinary effort. Before heading out the door, New Yorkers should check the MTA website for up-to-date service information to ensure their commute is as seamless as possible.”

 

Since the mudslide was reported at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday, the MTA said crews have worked around the clock to successful clear 350 cubic yards of soil and debris and 250 cubic yards of rock and cement walls from two of the Hudson Line’s four tracks. They said crews are breaking apart the rock walls to reincorporate segments to help stabilize the slope where the mudslide occurred, and are repositioning other segments to the shore side of the Hudson Line, transforming it into “rip-rap” that stabilizes the coastline alongside the rail line.

 

They said work is expected to continue for days to clear the mud and debris from the remaining two tracks and added that crews will spend the remaining hours on Sunday night and Monday morning rebuilding 140 feet of third rail that was crushed by the mudslide, ensuring the two operable tracks are safe for train service.

MTA Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi said, “I want to applaud the Metro-North workforce for their quick work recovering from this storm and helping to ensure hundreds of customers could continue their travels via a temporary shuttle bus. When duty calls, the Metro-North team springs into action and goes full-bore until the job is finished.”

 

She added, “I am very pleased they were able to restore near-normal schedules this quickly. A restoration of service this fast also would not have been possible without the support we received from MTA Construction & Development, Westchester County, the Town of Mount Pleasant, regional law enforcement partners including the MTA PD, the Westchester County PD, the Mount Pleasant PD, and also from MTA New York City Transit which didn’t hesitate when we asked for buses to help customers.”

 

To reduce the potential for congestion-related delays, the railroad is canceling four of the 158 trains that operate daily on the Hudson Line. These four trains will not operate:

• The 6:42 a.m. departure from Poughkeepsie, due into Grand Central at 8:18 a.m. Customers may want to consider the 6:48 a.m. departure, or the 6:25 a.m. departure, as alternatives.
• Customers of the 7:08 a.m. departure from Tarrytown will be accommodated by the 6:45 a.m. train from Croton-Harmon, which will make all stops of both trains.
• The 5:30 p.m. and 6:11 p.m. Poughkeepsie express trains from Grand Central will not operate. Customers may wish to consider using the 5:32 p.m. or 6:15 p.m. trains as alternatives.

 

To reduce congestion in the area where tracks are limited, MTA officials said reverse-peak trains will bypass Philipse Manor or Scarborough during the morning and evening rush hours. They said customers looking to travel north to those stations in the morning will need to ride a northbound train to Ossining or Croton-Harmon to board a southbound train. They added that customers looking to travel south from those stations in the evening will need to ride a southbound train to Tarrytown to board a northbound train.

 

Following the mudslide on Saturday morning, Hochul had issued a statement on the impact to the Metro North rail service, saying at the time, “This morning, a mudslide in Westchester County has caused significant disruption to Metro North and Amtrak service,” Hochul said. “Thankfully, there have been no injuries reported and no individuals are stranded in impacted areas.”

 

The governor continued, “The MTA has suspended Metro North service between Tarrytown and Croton Harmon, and is working to arrange bus service as replacement transportation for impacted passengers. At this point, our top priority is to restore service as quickly as possible and we are deeply grateful to the hard-working MTA personnel and emergency responders who are working to keep commuters, motorists and all New Yorkers safe.”

 

MTA officials said that at approximately 9:45 a.m. on Saturday, a mudslide obstructed all four Metro-North Railroad tracks near Scarborough station in the village of Briarcliff Manor. As a result, there is no Metro-North service between Tarrytown and Croton-Harmon stations.

They said there is limited hourly service between Grand Central Terminal and Tarrytown, and limited hourly service between Croton-Harmon and Poughkeepsie. In addition, MTA officials said there is very limited bus service is replacing trains between Tarrytown and Croton-Harmon for impacted customers, and that substitute transportation plan is expected to last at least through the weekend.

 

Customers are recommended to consider using the Harlem Line service whenever possible during the disruption. They said the Harlem Line is unaffected and is running a normal service.

According to the MTA, Metro North crews are on scene, assessing damage and stability on the right-of-way in the affected area and are working closely with local authorities to ensure the safety of responding employees. Officials said they will provide updates and additional service guidance as they become available throughout the weekend.

 

In the meantime, customers are encouraged to check for updated train schedules in the TrainTime app, on the MTA website, and on MTA social media platforms.