Photo courtesy of the MTA
Hundreds of New York Yankees fans joined New York City Transit (NYCT) president, Richard Davey, on the New York Transit Museum’s 1917 IRT Lo-V Nostalgia train and the “Train of Many Colors” for the Yankees home opener on Thursday, March 30 at Yankee Stadium, as MTA and NYCT officials used the occasion to highlight new service options for fans to Yankee Stadium for all of the season’s home games.
Fans boarded the train at Grand Central for an express train unlike any other. The train ride followed a news conference where Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) leaders reminded Yankees fans that the fastest way to Yankee Stadium is via public transportation, and came as the agency’s continues its efforts to regain its pre-pandemic ridership numbers.
Touted as a once-in-a-season way for Yankees fans to show off their pinstripe pride, and ride to Yankee Stadium in style, commuters hopped aboard the 1917 IRT Lo-V train or the Train of Many Colors which traveled nonstop from Grand Central to the Yankee Stadium gates, arriving in The Bronx in plenty of time before the first pitch at 1:05 p.m.
MTA and NYCT officials said the IRT Lo-V Nostalgia Train left the uptown train platforms of 42nd Street-Grand Central at around 11 a.m., and traveled on the Lexington Avenue line, arriving at 161st Street-Yankee Stadium around 25 minutes later. The Train of Many Colors arrived after it carrying more riders to the stadium.
Originally operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) system, the IRT Lo-V began service in 1917, according to MTA and NYCT officials. The vintage train cars and hundreds of other similar cars served subway customers a few years before the first pitch was thrown at the original Yankee Stadium. According to the MTA and NYCT, with rattan seats, ceiling fans, and drop sash windows, the train hearkens back to an earlier age of subway travel and provides a photogenic counterpoint to the new home of the New York Yankees.
Photo courtesy of the MTA
They said the Train of Many Colors includes a selection of cars manufactured in the 1960s: the R-33, R-33WF and R-36 cars. With “Tartar Red” and “Gunn Red” redbirds, Kale Green “Green Machines”, blue-and-silver “Platinum Mist” and the striking two-tone robin’s egg blue and cream “Bluebird” paint schemes, the train represents several different eras in New York City subway history.
With the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) terminal at Grand Central, MTA and NYCT officials were anxious to highlight to Yankees fans anywhere in the MTA region, from Montauk to New Haven, that they now have easy transit access to Yankee Stadium for the first time ever.
Metro-North Railroad president and LIRR interim president, Catherine Rinaldi, welcomed back baseball fans with what she described as plenty of [public transportation] options to get them to the stadium in time for first pitch. “This year the commuter railroads offer service to Yankee Stadium from New Haven to Ronkonkoma, with LIRR service now at Grand Central where customers can connect to a Metro-North gameday shuttle or a Hudson Line train,” she said. “For Hudson Valley and Connecticut customers, the return of the Yankee Clippers offers one-seat rides to the stadium. Leave the driving to us this season.”
Meanwhile, New York City Transit president, Richard Davey, said if Yankee Stadium is not the most mass transit friendly ballpark in the league, it is certainly the most diverse. “Two subway lines, five bus routes, and an Access-A-Ride stop right at the front of the stadium, and that’s just New York City Transit,” he said. “Yankees fans, and those visiting, have nothing but options and we will be here to get you to and from the game.”
Photo courtesy of the MTA
MTA acting chief customer officer, Shanifah Rieara, said there was nothing like baseball season in The Bronx, and with so many options available mass transit was a no brainer way to the game. “No matter where you are in the MTA region, if you can catch a bus or train, there is a quick way to the ballgame,” he said. “The only thing a customer has to do is see which of the many ways works best for them.”
MTA and NYCT officials said they will be providing the following public transportation service options for all New York Yankees home games.
LIRR to Grand Central
They said the opening of Grand Central Madison makes it easier than ever for Yankees fans on Long Island to get to the game.
Prior to the terminal’s opening, a Yankees fan coming in from Long Island would have taken a longer subway ride from Atlantic Av-Barclays Center in Brooklyn, or transferred twice on the subway, or left Penn Station in Manhattan and walked to Herald Square to connect to a 
train.
Now, they said an LIRR customer can take a one-seat ride into Grand Central and finish their trip either on a Metro-North shuttle or the 
train. Either option can take a customer to the stadium in less than 30 minutes from Grand Central.
Photo courtesy of the MTA
Metro-North’s Yankee Clippers
Metro-North Railroad announced the return of its “Yankee Clipper” trains as part of the new train schedules that took effect Sunday, March 26, as reported. The Yankee Clippers are special game-day trains which provide one-seat rides from the Harlem and New Haven lines to Yankees-East 153rd Street station for all evening and weekend home games.
In addition to the Yankee Clipper trains, Metro-North officials said the train service will operate shuttle trains for all evening and weekend games between Grand Central Terminal, Harlem-125th Street and Yankees-East 153rd Street stations for fans departing from Manhattan or who are transferring at Harlem-125th station from additional Harlem and New Haven line trains. Also, Metro-North will operate shuttle trains after weekday day games from Yankees-East 153rd Street to Harlem-125th Street and Grand Central.
They added that many Hudson Line trains stop at Yankees-East 153rd Street station normally, and many express trains to and from Croton-Harmon and Poughkeepsie make a stop at the stadium on game days. For afternoon games, customers can take any Hudson Line train to the game and will be accommodated by shuttle service following the game.
Photo courtesy of the MTA
New York City Subway
The subway’s 161st Street-Yankee Stadium station, with service on the and 
lines, is right in front of the stadium at the corner of 161st Street and River Avenue. The trains stop at 161st Street-Yankee Stadium during rush hours only, while the and trains currently stop at 161st Street-Yankee Stadium at all times.
Starting Friday, April 28, trains will resume peak-direction rush hour express service in The Bronx. However, Bronx-bound rush hour trains will continue to stop at 161st Street-Yankee Stadium on game days.
New York City Buses
The Bx6, Bx6 SBS, and Bx13 stop near the stadium at East 161st Street and River Avenue. In addition, the Bx1 and Bx2 both stop at East 161st Street and the Grand Concourse, a three-block walk east to the stadium.
Customers can use the real-time bus arrival tracking feature on the MYmta app before boarding.
Access-A-Ride
Access-A-Ride has a designated stop in front of Yankee Stadium. To book a trip to the stadium, customers can call (877) 337-2017 or (718) 393-4999 and press prompt #2.
The Yankees emerged victorious on Opening Day, cruising to a 5-0 win over the San Francisco Giants, including an opening home run by reigning American League Most Valuable Player (AL MVP) Aaron Judge, who, as reported by USA Today, signed a $360 million contract in the offseason. Judge, 30, made history last year when he hit his 62nd home run of the 2022 season. The Bronx Bombers take on the Giants once again at 1.35 p.m. on Sunday, April 2.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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