Metro-North schedule padding

[Italianstallion]

Until recently I hadn't fully realized how ridiculously padded MNRR schedules are. Last week, I took the 3:57 local-express from Riverdale to GCT. From Riverdale this train stops only at Spuyten Duyvil, Marble Hill and 125th St. before hitting GCT. I noted that it was scheduled to arrive at 4:28 - 31 minutes later. Odd, I thought, I remember when similar runs 10 years ago used to be clocked at 26 minutes. Anyway, at Riverdale the train arrives at 4:02 - five minutes late.  That was annoying. Then it slows down more than usual approaching S. Duyvil to let an express cut in front.  With the express in front, we crawl into Marble Hill. Then we have a decent, not super fast run past all the local stops, but stop at the Highbridge yard to let an employee board - lose another 30 seconds.  I'm thinking, we will be very late. But as we pull into 125th I see it is only 4:17! We arrive into GCT at 4:28 - a runtime of 26 minutes WITH all the delays, and right on schedule. Wow.

[Trainmaster5]

7 hours ago, Italianstallion said:

Until recently I hadn't fully realized how ridiculously padded MNRR schedules are. Last week, I took the 3:57 local-express from Riverdale to GCT. From Riverdale this train stops only at Spuyten Duyvil, Marble Hill and 125th St. before hitting GCT. I noted that it was scheduled to arrive at 4:28 - 31 minutes later. Odd, I thought, I remember when similar runs 10 years ago used to be clocked at 26 minutes. Anyway, at Riverdale the train arrives at 4:02 - five minutes late.  That was annoying. Then it slows down more than usual approaching S. Duyvil to let an express cut in front.  With the express in front, we crawl into Marble Hill. Then we have a decent, not super fast run past all the local stops, but stop at the Highbridge yard to let an employee board - lose another 30 seconds.  I'm thinking, we will be very late. But as we pull into 125th I see it is only 4:17! We arrive into GCT at 4:28 - a runtime of 26 minutes WITH all the delays, and right on schedule. Wow.

I’ve been trying to get my subway forum posters to see this very thing. “ My train crawled between X and Y today “ . “ The T/O was sooo slow” . Meanwhile the schedule/ timetable says that the train arrived at the terminal on time. This concept isn’t new or confined to the  . Seems like no one really reads the schedules and the rules of carriage. Bus, subway, railroad, planes. Same thing applies to all. I flew from NY to CLT last month, landed and waited for a gate for 18 minutes and we were still on time. Sometimes it’s the perception that we focus on rather than the carrier’s focus. Just my observation. Carry on.