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Metro-North Adds Trains For Thanksgiving Getaway, Parade & Shopping

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. — Looking to head into Manhattan over the long holiday weekend? Or hoping to get out of the city fast after work? Check your train schedules for the New Haven Line — Metro-North has adjusted the train schedules in helpful ways. 

Santa Claus is the highlight of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Metro-North is offering extra trains for parade-goers on Thursday morning.

Santa Claus is the highlight of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Metro-North is offering extra trains for parade-goers on Thursday morning.

Photo Credit: tweber1

Metro-North is providing special service and extra trains throughout the Thanksgiving weekend. Off-peak fares will be in effect on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 27, and customers can take advantage of free parking at many stations.

A Thanksgiving weekend timetable is available online.

Customers are encouraged to buy tickets in advance or via the eTix smartphone App.

A 10-trip off-peak ticket can save 30 percent to 40 percent off of the one-way fare if traveling with a group. The “Family Fare” costs $1 per ticket for up to four children (ages 5 to 11) when they are traveling with a fare-paying adult. For information about the eTix app, click here

Brace yourself if you are traveling the day before Thanksgiving — it is the heaviest travel day of the year for Metro-North. On Wednesday, Nov. 23, there will be 18 early getaway trains that depart Grand Central Terminal during the mid-day. The extra service includes 10 extra trains on the New Haven Line between 12:58 p.m. and 4 p.m. Due to the heavier mid-day travel patterns, some evening trains may be canceled or combined, so be sure to check the timetables.

On Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24, Metro-North will provide additional inbound morning service for customers heading to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which kicks off at 9 a.m. at 81st Street and Central Park West and ends in front of Macy’s at Herald Square at 34th Street. 

There is also expanded outbound service starting in the late morning and continuing through mid-afternoon. If you’re leaving New York after the parade, customers must show a ticket before boarding trains at Grand Central or Harlem-125th Street Station. On this day last year, about 30,000 customers departed Grand Central between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Finally, there will be extra trains in the evening for customers returning to New York City after their Thanksgiving feasts.

On Friday, Nov. 25, Metro-North will operate on a Saturday schedule with additional inbound service in the morning and outbound service in the afternoon to accommodate the Friday workforce and Black Friday shoppers.

Metro-North will round out the holiday weekend schedule with extra trains and additional cars on existing trains. Service on Saturday, Nov. 26 features outer New Haven Line Shoppers’ Special service. Regular half-hour service to/from Stamford on the New Haven Line will operate all day. On Sunday, Nov. 27, trains run on a normal half-hourly schedule featuring outer New Haven Line Shoppers’ Specials.

For more information about Metro-North train schedules, click here for the schedules page.

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