NEW YORK — Buses will substitute for commuter trains on the Metro-North Port Jervis line beginning Sunday, Sept. 11, at 4 a.m., allowing trackwork including replacement of 10,000 crossties and three switches, as well as track welding work. The bus substitutions will continue for more than two months, through Nov. 13.
Buses will operate to Suffern, where NJ Transit trains will operate normally to Hoboken. The buses operate on weekdays from approximately 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and on weekends beginning at 12:30 a.m. on Saturdays until 12:30 a.m. on Mondays. More information is available here.
The replacement ties should last for 30 years, the MTA says.
Upon further review, it appears the busses will run to Ramsey-Route 17 instead of Suffern. The 9.21 AM bus from Port Jervis gets to Ramsey 10.35 AM; train (from Suffern) leaves 10.54 and arrives NY Penn (via Secaucus) 11.44 AM (Hoboken direct is 11.38 AM)
This bus-train service replaces train 58 which left Port Jervis also at 9.21 AM. So the bus is faster to Ramsey.
Here’s the MNR flyer: https://new.mta.info/document/93326
On the current all-rail schedule, train 52 leaves Port Jervis 6.03 AM, Suffern 7.33 AM and NY Penn (change at Secaucus) 8.36 AM.
Could a bus be slower?
If a bus leaves Port Jervis around 9am when will a passenger arrive in Hoboken? It doesn’t seem like a very good commuter schedule.
And 24 hour operation on weekends?
A production tie gang on a US Class 1 with a 10 hour window is doing well north of 1000 ties per day. A turnout install takes about 12 hours. If they are doing a complete shut down, which minimizes travel time for the gang, they should do 10,000 in a week.
I wonder how long such a job takes in China? Is replacing 250 ties a day a stretch goal?