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Read the press release here.

Three Metro-North Lines Reopen after Six Months of Construction

By Gustavo Solis | December 16, 2013 7:41pm
  The Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven lines will run faster by Jan. 18, Metro-North said.
The Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven lines will run faster by Jan. 18, Metro-North said.
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THE BRONX — Metro-North announced a speed limit increase to a stretch of tracks just miles from where a train derailment killed four people and injured dozens.

The speed limit along a six-mile stretch of the New Haven and the Hudson lines between Woodlawn and Melrose will increase by 15 miles to 75 miles-per-hour on Jan. 18, Metro-North officials said.

The faster trains are part of a larger upgrade project to the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven lines that began back in July, Metro-North officials said.

“The complete rebuilding of this section of track is a major milestone in our ongoing effort to improve track conditions,” Metro-North President Howard Permut said in a written statement.

Additionally, full train service will resume at Melrose and Tremont stations. Both stations had previously been served with shuttle buses to Fordham.

Running times on the Hudson line are expected to be reduced by two minutes during the morning rush hour and one minute during the evening. Off-peak and weekend train times should be reduced by up to four minutes.

The Harlem line should see a three minute cut during the morning commute and a five minute cut in the evening. Off-peak and weekend times should be cut down by four minutes.

On the New Haven line, running times will be reduces by two minutes during both the week and weekends. 

The Federal Railroad Administration, which launched a safety-probe into Metro-North after the derailment, said the commuter railway are allowed to determine their own speed limits, under federal law.