Riders on Metro North Railroad's New Haven Line will get their regular service back on Monday -- much sooner than expected. The MTA cut the line's schedule by 10 percent in early February after winter storms disabled its old cars faster than repairs could be made. A return to full service wasn't expected until spring, with the arrival of new train cars.

On Tuesday, Metro-North President Howard Permut stepped off a new set of eight train cars in Grand Central Station that had carried passengers on a maiden trip from Stamford. He said riders would soon have more cars like them, running more frequently.

"Next week, while the trains will be crowded, they will not be nearly as crowded as they were during January, when they were jammed," he said.

Milder weather has allowed the railroad to catch up on a backlog of repairs to trains that suffered equipment outages from this winter's snow and cold. Crowding on the line should further be eased with the two-year roll out of 380 new Kawasaki cars at a cost of $761 million.

The Metro North trains also have newly redesigned seats.