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The aggressive track improvements that defined 2014 are moving along, and the railroad also expects continued progress as the last of the 405 M-8 cars are placed into service on the New Haven Line this spring, according to a Metro-North statement.
“Numerous safety initiatives, both implemented and underway, and our ongoing, aggressive track maintenance program are paying off as reliability increases, slowly but surely,” railroad President Joseph Giulietti said in a statement to the Metro-North Committee of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board. “It is critical that we bring our infrastructure to a state of good repair and that we continue to focus each and every employee on the importance of safety as our core value.”
Despite a number of problems, Metro-North achieved record ridership in 2014, carrying a projected 84.7 million customers, higher than the previous record of 83.6 million set in 2008, and a 1.4 percent increase over 2013.
Giulietti also set the on-time performance goals for 2015 at 93 percent for trains operating during peak times and 92 percent for off-peak trains. The slightly lower goal for off-peak and weekends is because off-peak times are when most track work is performed.
In 2014, Metro-North achieved an overall on-time performance of 91.5 percent.
Metro-North said customer complaints in 2014 dropped 30 percent overall through December and complaints about late and canceled trains dropped 60 percent.
Other improvements and highlights from 2014 include:
- Railroad workers replaced 42,500 crossties on all three lines, resurfaced 83 miles of track across all lines resulting in upgrades to 20 miles of right of way, including drainage improvements.
- Two dozen new switches (where tracks move from one track to another) were installed on the main lines, at Grand Central Terminal and in yards to improve operational flexibility.
- Workers replaced 4,700 feet of rail on three curves on the New Haven Line.
- Steel repairs were made to four undergrade bridges and timber bridge decks were replaced on nine bridges east and west of the Hudson River.
- New timber ties, continuous welded rail, new miter rails and presence detectors were installed at the Walk Bridge in Norwalk, while new timber ties were installed at the Devon Bridge in Milford.
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