ARTICLE: Yankee stadium station gets Metro-North nod

[DutchRailnut]

Spur ?? there will be 4 tracks in the station, tracks one two and 4 on Hudson mainline and the highbridge yard lead.

Taking a New Haven or Harlem train at restricted speed from one signal block north of CP106 (melrose) to stadium will be about 8 minutes, changing ends and brake test an aditional 12 minutes, getting out of town and back on right track towards 125 street another 5 minutes.

A shuttle train between 125 street with double ended crew can take passengers in 6 to 8 minutes to Yankee stadium and do brake test in a few minutes for return trip to 125th.
add to that the hudson line trains and a second shuttle or so you can move thousands of people in less than half hour.

[L'mont]

I still don't think that it makes any sense. Do something to eliminate the need to change crews because that's just silly. There is a wye there and it should be used so that trains can go direct to the stadium from Harlem and New Haven.

Why involve a train change and tie up the platforms at 125th street.

[RearOfSignal]

The double ended crews sounds sensable. Shuttle service probably wouldn't have too much of an affect on 125 street if the shuttle uses only track 4. I'm guessing you would have only two trains going back and forth, maybe 3 trains in the evening rush out of the stadium. You could platform shuttle trains at Yankee Stadium on tracks 1 and the Highbridge lead track. (Not sure how that would affect trains that were laid up getting out of Highbridge, sometimes there lined up right behind one another on the lead waiting for the signal to clear at CP 6). Tracks 2 & 4 could be used for regular Hudson Line trains going through. I think the shuttle system would work much better than wying trains from the Harlem Line and back down.

[DutchRailnut]

I still don't think that it makes any sense. Do something to eliminate the need to change crews because that's just silly. There is a wye there and it should be used so that trains can go direct to the stadium from Harlem and New Haven.

Why involve a train change and tie up the platforms at 125th street.

If you want to go thru wye you would be down to 15 mph one block before melrose, 10 mph thru wye then 15 mph from wye to stadium.

With shuttle trains it can be done at 35 mph over bridge and MO jct then 45 up to stadium and change ends in station or just north at next CP.
in evening MNCR could even use the trains out of high bridge as extra shuttles when stadium empties and take sports fans to 125 or GCT .

[Stephen B. Carey]

it would take a reverse move and a different crew,

By different crew do you mean a crew on the other end for the reverse move?

Thanks,
Stephen

[DutchRailnut]

No like I explained before Harlem and New Haven crews are not, and are not required to be qualified on Hudson line.

[Terrapin Station]

My understanding is all trains will transfer at 125th street to yankee stadium shuttles (30 m1a's) and the hudson line trains would stop at stadium.

But the MTA has repeatedly said there will be direct service from all 3 lines...

[Terrapin Station]

You think thats a farce , I believe the MTA is exeding thier authorty to spend 91 milion on a partime station only designed to benefit a private company(sports franchise) I believe mr Steinbrenner should have caught up the majority of this money.
The station won't benefit the general public.

The article said that the station would be open on non-game days as well...

[ajp]

The station still has possibilities for park and ride on non game days (and there is the fall winter and spring) plus access to the mega mall thats being built.
and has everyone forgotted the LIRR Port Washington branch station for shea/tennis center - two private concerns - thats only open event days and is a longer distance away from either venue than the YS station and with the construction of the new ballyard has no park and ride capacity till after 2010, or the Belmont Park spur on the Main Line. And how about the SIRT extension to the ballpark there? And finish off with the Aqueduct station on the A train in Queens (sorry to stray off the MNR forum)

[Jeff Smith]

I decided to resurrect an older thread rather than start a new one, or resurrect the "photo" thread, since this seemed to have more of a history.

NY Journal News Article

News: Public hearing for fares to be set for Yankee Stadium service.

Railroad planners propose to charge people along the Hudson Line and those traveling from Grand Central Terminal or Harlem-125th Street the same fares they would pay for other stops in the Bronx.

For Harlem and New Haven line trains, the cost would be the same as a ticket to Manhattan, plus an added fee of $1 for peak fares and 75 cents other times. Those additional fares will also be charged when riders on those lines use 10-trip tickets and monthly passes, which would be accepted for trips to the ball games.

Note that while during peak hours, there will be no direct NH or Harlem service, but after games, and on weekends, there will be.

Harlem and New Haven line trains will be able to reach the stop by using a curving track at the Mott Haven Yard normally reserved for moving equipment among the lines.

But rush hours become too busy to use the extra track, requiring the trains to go to 125th Street for the transfers at those times, said Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders.

What's more, riders on the Harlem and New Haven lines will not be able to get directly to weekday Yankee games, but will have to transfer at 125th Street for a shuttle train. However, they will be able to take trains directly to their home stop after the games, and for weekend games, trains will take them direct both ways.

Can't wait to see the "Yankee Stadium Special" timetables on EBay!

[Spuyten Duyvil]

Echoing what others have said earlier -- $91 million? The original Yankee Stadium only cost $31 million to build in today's dollars, for crying out loud!

I go through the construction every day, and unless they're going to top the platforms with high-end marble and clad the superstructure with titanium, it looks and feels more like a $9.1 million facility. Maybe even a $910,000 one, if you're feeling ungenerous.

Does anyone happen to know how much of the sticker cost is comprised of buying rights-of-way? If it's not the lion's share, something feels amiss to me.

[The Interloafer]

Okay, so for the Harlem and New Haven Line passengers:

Weekday evening games: Shuttle to the game, direct service returning home.
Weekend games (day or evening): Direct to, direct returning.
What about the odd weekday day game? I'm guessing direct to, shuttle returning.

Question: This is probably applicable to the Hudson Line, but more so for the Harlem & NH. Will the trains leaving Yankee Stadium serve the inner portions of the line or outer? Or will they be milk-run locals all the way to their terminals? Or are we talking electric equipment only for all of these trains?

Finally, a thought. Many Dutchess County, Putnam County and northern Westchester County passengers who have a choice between the H & H going to opt for the Hudson Line over the Harlem, even if it means driving a little farther. First off, it looks like it will be cheaper. Second, no guessing about transfers and shuttle trains.

[Erie-Lackawanna]

Okay, so for the Harlem and New Haven Line passengers:

Weekday evening games: Shuttle to the game, direct service returning home.
Weekend games (day or evening): Direct to, direct returning.
What about the odd weekday day game? I'm guessing direct to, shuttle returning.

Question: This is probably applicable to the Hudson Line, but more so for the Harlem & NH. Will the trains leaving Yankee Stadium serve the inner portions of the line or outer? Or will they be milk-run locals all the way to their terminals? Or are we talking electric equipment only for all of these trains?

Current thinking (subject to change, of course):
Odd weekday day game - shuttle in both directions.

Hudson Line service will be primarily the regularly scheduled trains making an additional stop at Yankee Stadium, including the Poughkeepsie trains. One or two extras may operate; without looking at my file I don't want to state categorically whether they're locals or local & express, but IIRC I believe the latter.

Jim

[The Interloafer]

Thanks Jim. It will be exciting to see how this shakes out. It's not every day we get a new station, much less one that will be served by all three lines.

[pnaw10]

It certainly will be interesting. Pre-game service should be easy, considering people arrive at different times. Some hardcore fans like to get there really early to see warmups and stuff, while others show up at the last minute, or even a little late. And not to mention, the game start times usually don't change, so it's easy to schedule pre-game trains.

The real test will be post-game service. It ought to be interesting to see how well things go if/when you have hundreds of people looking for trains from all 3 lines right after a game ends. I think shuttle service should be fairly easy to handle -- get people outta there, and let them sort themselves out when they get to 125th or GCT. Shuttles should be able to leave quickly and often, without causing (much) disruption to regularly-scheduled Hudson Line service.

But on days when direct service for all 3 lines is being offered, I can see room for complications. Will trains for all 3 lines be ready and waiting on the platform so fans can immediately board? Will the trains leave at pre-scheduled times, or will they leave "x" minutes after the game is over? If a game is rain-delayed or runs into extra innings, it wouldn't be good business to make people leave early just to catch their train; nor would it make much sense (or money) to run an empty train. Likewise, if a game is cut short due to bad weather, how quickly can trains be moved into place to collect those soaking, disappointed fans?

Hopefully these scenarios have already been considered by those in charge. I think it's cool and exciting to have a new station serving Yankee Stadium, so I would hate to see a bizarre, unforeseen complication ruin this all by giving people a bad first impression.