ARTICLE: Yankee stadium station gets Metro-North nod

[Terrapin Station]

I know there was talk of sending shuttles from GCT to the new Yankee Stadium station or sending New Haven Line and Harlem Line trains through the Wye to the new stadium. Has a decision been made as to how they are going to move Passengers in and out of the new station. Also when they built the new station did they have a lot of work to do re-aligning the tracks?

Both scenarios, depending on day of week and time of game start. Vast majority of customers will use shuttles operating between GCT/125th Street and new, as-yet-unnamed station near Yankee Stadium.

Three of four tracks in that area had to be moved to make room for platforms.

Jim

Why wouldn't they just name it "Yankee Stadium"? After all, the 4 and D/B train station(s) use it in their names?

Maybe because of politics? My guess is that the name with include "Yankee Stadium", but that is may also include something about the neighborhood, such as a neighborhood name or a cross street. Maybe even something about the new mall nearby, but I doubt it. Or, it may get a corporate branded name.

[Terrapin Station]

That must have been a big job move three of the 4 tracks. When did they start work on the tracks?

I believe they did it gradually, but I could be wrong. I'd also guess they started moving the tracks sometime during the summer or fall of 2007, though again, I could be wrong.

[Trainer]

Or, it may get a corporate branded name.

I can hear it now.

"HEEEEbrew Naaaaational is next!"

I guess that's better than "LAAAAAAys!" or "Shlllllllllllllllitzzzzz! Shlllllllllllllitzzz Station is next!"

[Trainer]

Metro-North sets Yankee train fares
Under a recently approved fare schedule, fans will pay $14 for a one-way ticket to the stadium during peak hours, a dollar above the base price for a trip from Norwalk to Grand Central Terminal. Passengers from Stamford and Darien and on the New Canaan branch would pay $13.25 each way during peak hours, and $10 evenings and weekends. Greenwich residents would pay $11.75 during peak hours and $10 off-peak. On the way to weekday and night games, New Haven and Harlem line passengers would switch to the stadium shuttle at 125th Street.

http://www.newstimes.com/latestnews/ci_11434093

So, what I glean from this is that it costs a buck to ride the shuttle?

[pnaw10]

"It would be nice if the Yankees could eat that cost," Haas said. "Still, I think it beats driving and having to park."

Does he realize the Yankees "eating" that cost will likely just mean higher ticket prices to see the game? Nothing's free, pal. If you're not paying for it up-front, you're paying for it in some other way. And it may beat driving and parking only if you've got yourself or a small party. If you're bringing a family or a bigger group, it may actually be cheaper to park than for everyone to pay train fare (depending on where you're coming from).

Somehow, I never noticed The Interloafer's posting with the photos from October until just now. Nice work! Has the work progressed significantly since then? I'd be interested to see how it looks today, unless "today" pictures would look nearly the same as the October pictures.

The one problem is the local trains to Harmon just got a bit longer time-wise that is. There are now 19 station stops from GCT to Harmon in only 33 miles. Yikes!!!

Good point. Will it really be necessary for all trains to stop here at all times, or could it be a "game day only" stop, like LIRR's Shea Stadium station? If this is going to be a stop for every local train, I don't think it would be unreasonable to consider closing either Morris Heights or University Heights.

I'd have to guess University Heights... according to Google, it's less than a mile (about a 15-minute walk) to Morris Heights or to the (4) at Fordham Road... and an even shorter walk (0.3 miles / 6 minutes) to the (1) at 207th Street, or double that to get to the (A) at 207th/Broadway. (Also note the Bx12 bus runs along 207th and Fordham Road, offering even shorter travel times to these subway lines, and at no additional cost to those with unlimited MetroCards.)

Morris Heights, on the other hand, is more isolated from subway service (only nearby line is the 4), and it's a greater "separation distance" from Marble Hill. In other words, people who walk to University Heights have more alternatives -- and wouldn't have to walk as far if it is closed. But if you close Morris Heights, people who live south of the station would have to walk a lot further to get to Marble Hill or Yankee Stadium.

But, I could be wrong... they've both survived this long, despite being less than a mile apart from each other. Maybe the ridership numbers are actually strong enough to warrant keeping them both open.

[Erie-Lackawanna]

it really be necessary for all trains to stop here at all times, or could it be a "game day only" stop, like LIRR's Shea Stadium station? If this is going to be a stop for every local train, I don't think it would be unreasonable to consider closing either Morris Heights or University Heights.

1. All regular Hudson Line locals (those that stop in the Bronx, that is) will make a stop at the station located near Yankee Stadium every day, in or out of baseball season. It is a commuter station, with commuter parking accommodations at one of the adjacent stadium lots.

2. Why must users of the Morris Heights or University Heights suffer the loss of their closest train station to accommodate others from Riverdale and Westchester County who don't want to spend an extra minute on the train? How would you feel if it were your station they closed - just because a new station opened up down the line and there are "too many stops" on the line?

3. Who says they have to spend an extra minute on the train? While decisions haven't been made, the initial schedule probably won't include lengthened running times for those trains making the new station stop.

Jim

[RearOfSignal]

University Heights is actually a busy station, being all the way on the west side of Fordham road, Morris Heights busy but not as much. Both stations I would imagine have higher ridership than Melrose or Tremont on the Harlem Line.

[R36 Combine Coach]

I wonder why is Marble Hill an express stop for many Poughkeepsie trains.

[Spuyten Duyvil]

I wonder why is Marble Hill an express stop for many Poughkeepsie trains.

It's a short walk to the #1 stop at 225th Street, so it's an important connection for Harlem Line customers commuting to/from Washington Heights/Inwood, Harlem, Morningside Heights, and the upper west side.

[Erie-Lackawanna]

It's a short walk to the #1 stop at 225th Street, so it's an important connection for Harlem Line customers commuting to/from Washington Heights/Inwood, Harlem, Morningside Heights, and the upper west side.

Hudson Line.

Jim

[Spuyten Duyvil]

Good grief. I guess it's a miracle I find my way home every night. Yes, Hudson.

[pnaw10]

How would you feel if it were your station they closed - just because a new station opened up down the line and there are "too many stops" on the line?

Probably the same way anyone close to Crugers or Montrose felt when they closed and Cortlandt opened. You accept the changes and move on.

But all kidding aside, as I said at the end of my previous post:

I could be wrong... they've both survived this long, despite being less than a mile apart from each other. Maybe the ridership numbers are actually strong enough to warrant keeping them both open.

...and apparently they are. Point taken.

[Erie-Lackawanna]

Probably the same way anyone close to Crugers or Montrose felt when they closed and Cortlandt opened. You accept the changes and move on. :-D

While I hear you on Crugers and Montrose, they got a new station, with a huge parking lot and significantly improved customer amenities. There was a big improvement for those small groups of people. Yankee Stadium would provide no such improvement for the displaced Morris Heights or University Heights customers.

Jim

[The Interloafer]

Somehow, I never noticed The Interloafer's posting with the photos from October until just now. Nice work! Has the work progressed significantly since then? I'd be interested to see how it looks today, unless "today" pictures would look nearly the same as the October pictures.

Ask, and ye shall receive, my friend. Here are images of construction progress as of today, Saturday, January 17, 2009.






Stairway leading to the stadium area connects to the footbridge over 153rd Street.


Double-wide stairway leading to the stadium area will be able to handle big crowds.

Between the B, the D, the 4, the Hudson Line, the Harlem Line, the New Haven Line, and the game-day ferry to lower Manhattan and New Jersey, this is going to be the most accessible stadium in the Major Leagues. One wonders why the Yankees and the New York City Economic Development Corporation / Industrial Development Agency still felt the need to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars to build 3,800 parking spaces for a stadium that will have nearly 3,000 fewer seats. But that is just one person's opinion.

[Drucifer]

So this is the station that never got built during the stadium renovation.

Haven't been to a stadium since I moved upstate because I couldn't see myself going past the stadium to GCT and then catch the No. 4 back to where I was an half-an-hour earlier.