Happy Thanksgiving New Yorkers! The MTA updated their rides in order to help everyone to travel during four-day Thanksgiving weekend.
Trains and buses across the MTA will operate on special schedules on Wednesday, Nov. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 28, with lots of extra railroad service will be added on Wednesday afternoon to accommodate the travel demands of Thanksgiving weekend.
Here is what to expect:
On Wednesday, Nov. 24 there will be extra afternoon service on LIRR, Metro-North and SIR.
Long Island Rail Road will add 12 extra trains between 12:45 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. departing from Penn Station in Manhattan. The service will include four extra trains to Babylon Branch, three to the PPort Jefferson/Hunting Branch. Two to the Ronkonkoma Branch and one each to Far Rockaway, Montauk and Port Washington Branches. The times are available in the current timetables and LIRR TrainTime app.
Metro-North will stay at weekday service with 10 additional early-getaways trains. Five will operate to New Haven Line, three on the Hudson Line and two on Harlem Line. All departures will be from Grand Central, between 12:05 p.m. and 3:05 p.m.
Pascack Valley Line now offered as a regular weekday train. It departs from Hoboken at 3 pm, stopping at Secaucus Junction, makes 8 stops in New Jersey and arrives at Spring Valley at 4:06 p.m.
Staten Island Railway travelers who are looking to get a head start on the holidays will be able to catch an early afternoon express on November 24th. Extra SIR trains will be added, beginning at 2:30 p.m. from St. George Ferry Terminal. There will be one express and one local train awaiting every boat up till 7:50 p.m.
On Thanksgiving Day, New York City subways and buses will operate on a Sunday schedule. Staten Island Railway will operate on Saturday schedule. Metro-North will operate on Saturday schedule as well, with some extra service before and after the parade. The LIRR and Metro-North’s West of Hudson service will work on a weekend/holiday schedule with extra service before and after the parade. But there are going to be lots of buses not operating on this day. Travelers should chek Sunday schedules, lines and routes.
For those who wished to join the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade which begins at 9 a.m. at 77th Street and Central Park and ends in front of Macy’s at Herald Square. The closest trains will be 72 St, trains 1,2,3 lines. The C line will stop at 81 St subway station and at 59 St- Columbus Circle, the lines are 1, A, C and D.
The LIRR and Metro-North will offer at off-peak prices throughout the retained time of 2021. The tickets will allow you to save 30% to 40% off one-way fare. The “Family Fare” now costs $1 per ticket for up to four children of 5 to 11 ages when they travel with a fair- paying adult.
In addition, the MTA and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are offering free rides on the Q70 Bus Service(SBS) from November 23 until November 28. It will allow travelers to get to LaGuardia airport, to the 7,E,F,M,R lines and Long Island Rail Road.
There will be additional service on the day of the parade. 42 Street Shuttle. Also increased early morning service on the 1 line. Some of the subway entrances at 59 St-Columbus Circle will be closed in order to prevent overcrowding on stairways and platforms and select exits will be closed at Penn Station. 72 St on the C line and 57 St on the F line will bypass between 7a.m. and 11 a.m.
Before traveling you can always check mta.info or the LIRR TrainTime app for updates.
