Hi Mooviters,
🍀The St. Patrick’s Day Parade is this Saturday! Here is what you need to know:
- LIRR and Metro-North Adding Extra Trains to and from Manhattan Before and After Parade
- Grand Central Madison Brings LIRR Riders Right to Parade Route
- Alcohol Will Be Banned on LIRR Trains from Midnight Saturday through 5 a.m. Monday
- Metro-North Alcohol Bans Alcohol All Day Saturday
- New York City Subway’s Lexington Avenue Line Has Station Stops Along Full Parade Route
- Check Moovit for Updates and Real Time Arrivals.
New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be held on Saturday, March 16 at 11:00 a.m., and (MTA) is the best way to get there. The parade has been a New York City staple since 1762, and the oldest and largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the world. The parade route runs along Fifth Avenue, starting at E. 44th Street and ending at E. 79th Street. The popular parade typically draws about 2 million spectators and about 150,000 marchers, including MTA employees.
For those participating in the parade, and those looking to watch, the MTA is the safest and reliable way to get you there. Grand Central Terminal, which now serves both Metro-North Railroad and the LIRR, leaves customers minutes from the parade. New York City Subway’s Lexington Avenue Line covers the full parade route, with stations a short walk to Fifth Ave.
See below for information regarding the NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade:
Alcohol Ban on Commuter Railroads
The Long Island Rail Road will ban alcohol on all trains and at stations from Midnight Saturday through 5:00 a.m. Monday and Metro-North Railroad will ban alcohol all day on Saturday.
Alcohol consumption and open alcoholic containers are always unauthorized throughout the subway system.
LIRR Adding Extra Trains Before and After Parade
Grand Central Madison leaves LIRR customers closer to the parade than ever, with the new East Side LIRR hub just a short walk from the parade’s starting point. The LIRR will have ushers at the terminal directing customers to the many street exits leading to Madison Ave between E. 42nd St and E. 48th St.
Multiple travel options will be available to get people to the parade. The LIRR will add 15 extra westbound trains to Manhattan prior to the parade, four on the Ronkonkoma Branch, 4 on the Babylon Branch, one on the Montauk Branch, two extra trains on the Port Jefferson Branch one from Huntington and one from Port Jefferson and one train from Great Neck to Penn Station. Transfers to Grand Central-bound trains at Jamaica are available for all added trains, leaving customers closer to the parade. There will also be one train from Great Neck and one from Long Beach that will take customers to Grand Central Madison.
To help parade spectators return to Long Island, the LIRR is adding 16 eastbound trains to its schedule including five trains on the Babylon Branch, four on the Ronkonkoma Branch, two trains to Huntington, one to Port Jefferson and one to Great Neck that will depart from Penn Station. One train to Long Beach and one train to Great Neck will depart from Grand Central Madison and one extra train will operate to Speonk from Penn.
The Best Way on the Subway
The best way to the parade by subway is the Lexington Avenue 4, 5, 6 , which covers the full parade route, and stations are a short walk to Fifth Ave. If customers wish to take the train right to Fifth Ave, however, they can take the subway to the 5 Av/53 St station. Customers could also take the R to 59 St-Lexington Av, or the Sixth Avenue Line D & F to 42 St-Bryant Park or 47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Center.
Customers should note that the stairs to the R 5 Av/59 St station at the southeast corner of Fifth Ave and 60th St. will be closed during the parade. During that same time, certain stairs at the 77 St 6 subway station will be enter only and others will be exit only.
Please be advised the following service changes will be in effect this weekend:
N trains will not operate between Queens & Manhattan
- N trains operate via the between Times Sq-42 St & 96 St-2 Av in Manhattan.
- For service to Astoria, take the R train to Queens Plaza and transfer to the Q108 Shuttle Bus to 39 Av for shuttle trains to Astoria-Ditmars Blvd.
trains will not operate between Queens & Manhattan
- trains operate between Main St and 74 St-Broadway only.
- For travel to Manhattan, take the , or R. LIRR will accommodate subway riders traveling between Queens and Manhattan for no additional cost at Flushing, Mets-Willets Point, Woodside, Grand Central Madison, and Penn Station.
New York City Bus Reroutes
Due to the parade route, some New York City Buses will have their routes impacted.
Customers should expect reroutes on the following bus routes: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M31, M50, M55, M57, M66, M72, M79 SBS, Q32, and most express buses.
Customers can check new.mta.info throughout the duration of the parade to monitor their route.
Metro-North Railroad Running Expanded Saturday Schedule
Metro-North will operate an expanded Saturday schedule on Saturday, March 16, to transport customers to and from the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City, along with seven scheduled extra trains – three on the Hudson Line, two on the Harlem Line and two on the New Haven Line – along with extra equipment available to operate additional trains if necessary.
On the Hudson Line, extra trains depart Poughkeepsie at 7:37 am, 8:37 am and 9:15 am, stopping at New Hamburg, Beacon, Cold Spring, Garrison, Peekskill and Croton-Harmon, and then operating express to Yankees/E 153rd St, Harlem/125th St and GCT. Metro-North will be checking tickets prior to customers boarding at Poughkeepsie and Beacon stations.
On the Harlem Line, an extra train departs Southeast at 8:52 am, stopping at all stations through White Plains and then operating express to Harlem/125th St and GCT; another extra train departs North White Plains at 9:46 am and stops at all stations through Mount Vernon West and then operating express to Harlem/125th St and GCT.
On the New Haven Line, an extra train departs New Haven at 8:30 am, making all stops to Westport and then operating express to Harlem/125th St and GCT, and a second extra train departs Stamford at 9:35 am, making all stops to Mount Vernon East and then operating express to Harlem/125th St and GCT.
West of the Hudson, on the Port Jervis Line, an extra train will depart Port Jervis at 8:24 am, making all stops to Suffern and then operating express to Secaucus Junction and Hoboken; passengers may change trains at Secaucus Junction for service to Penn Station New York. In the afternoon, an extra train will depart Hoboken at 5:19 pm and Secaucus Junction at 5:29 pm, with a connecting train departing Penn Station New York at 5:11 pm, operating express to Suffern and then all stops to Port Jervis.
Happy St. Patty’s Day,
The USA Team at Moovit