Metro-North is hard at work to avoid the annual late-fall fiasco known as slippery-rail season, which means falling leaves leave oil on the tracks, cars skid and have to be taken out of commission, and cars are so packed they resemble the mosh pit at the old Coney Island High for much of November and December.

According to Caren Halbfinger of Indian Point Today…I mean the Journal News…Metro-North will institute speed restrictions in problem areas, going around 50 m.p.h. instead of 75-80. As Metro-North deputy chief of operations Dave Schanoes tells the paper, that means a 6-7 minute delay, as opposed to a 12 minute delay. (Metro-North would actually prefer a 5:59 minute delay, so it’s technically “on time.”)

The railroad is also testing a sand-shooting mechanism that propels a “microjet of sand between the wheel and the rail” to foster adhesion and prevent skidding.