The Long Island Rail Road will continue work this weekend to upgrade switches at Jamaica as well as perform work related to Positive Train Control testing. PTC is a system designed to enhance railroad safety by preventing train-to-train collisions, over speed derailments, incursions into established work zones and the movement of a train through a switch left in the wrong position. As a result, there will be no train service between Jamaica and Atlantic Terminal, Saturday, Jan. 25, to Sunday, Jan. 26.

 

This weekend’s work on the Atlantic Branch will operate in conjunction with work related to the Massapequa Pocket Track project which has already provided the LIRR with greater service flexibility along the Babylon Branch and will be play an important role in the East Side Access Project.

 

 

Babylon Branch (Saturday, Jan. 25 Only): Between 1 a.m. and 3 p.m., westbound trains will depart stations Babylon - Massapequa 5 minutes earlier. In addition, some early morning eastbound trains will depart Penn Station 3 to 10 minutes earlier than normal train times.

 

Brooklyn Service (City Terminal Zone): There is no service between Jamaica and Atlantic Terminal. LIRR tickets will be cross-honored for subway service to/from Brooklyn.  In addition, Atlantic Tickets will be accepted on trains operating between Jamaica and Penn Station while service to and from Brooklyn is suspended.  One-Way Atlantic Tickets will also be accepted this Saturday and Sunday, but on weekends, CityTicket is a more economical option if traveling between Queens and Manhattan.

 

Far Rockaway Branch: All trains originate/terminate at Valley Stream. Customers can change at Valley Stream for train service to/from Penn Station.

 

Hempstead Branch: All trains originate/terminate at Jamaica. Customers can change at Jamaica for train service to/from Penn Station.

West Hempstead Branch: Buses substitute for trains between Valley Stream and West Hempstead. Customers can change at Valley Stream for train service to/from Penn Station.

Long Beach/Montauk/Oyster Bay/Port Jefferson/Ronkonkoma Branches: There are changes for departure times for connecting service west of Jamaica. There is no Brooklyn service.

 

Regular train service will resume in time for the Monday morning rush hour. Special weekend timetables are available at stations and terminals and online below:

New York City Transit will cross-honor LIRR tickets at the stations referenced below.

 

 

Information about the planned schedule change noted in this press release, and all planned service changes, is available through the LIRR’s real-time service information sources.

myLIRR.org - Customers can see real-time positions of upcoming trains in real time, on a smartphone-optimized map that refreshes every 3- to 5-seconds, by logging onto myLIRR.org, which is optimized for smartphone screens.

 

MYmta app & MTA.info – Customers who use the new, comprehensive MYmta app will see real-time travel information for the LIRR and connecting services all in one place, with push notifications when service is not operating normally. As a caution, trains that start out their trips on time may experience delays en route. The LIRR Train Time app also remains available for customers to access LIRR train information. The rail tab of the “Service Status” box at newMTA.info is always the definitive source for the latest status for each branch, updated every minute.

 

Email and text message service updates – Customers are urged to sign up to receive the alerts by visiting mymtaalerts.com. To avoid unwanted messages, a user can tailor the messages to the specific branch, and the specific times of day.

 

@LIRR on Twitter – Twitter users can follow @LIRR to receive updates of a similar nature to the email and text alerts, shortened to fit Twitter’s format.