Metro-North plans New Canaan Branch track maintenance

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

Track maintenance work on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Metro-North Railroad's New Canaan branch, connecting New York to Conneticut, will happen over the course of the next four weeks.

Beginning on Monday, September 10 and running through Friday, October 5, track workers will replace 5,800 wooden ties as part of Metro-North’s regular cyclical maintenance program along the entire eight-mile branch. Tie work on the line is done once every seven years. So it takes four cycles, or 28 years, to replace all the ties.

At a pace of about 300 ties per day, the track gangs cut the old ties and pull them out, slide a new one in with new fastener plates then attach the rail to the tie with big screw lag. The surfacing machine will follow right behind the tie gang.

No trackwork will be performed on weekends. This capital project is funded by the state of Connecticut.

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