November 11, 2016                                                                                                                                                                           

For Release                                                                                               

IMMEDIATE

Contact:       MTA Press Office

                        (212) 878-7440

Reduced Service on Huntington-Port Jeff & Hempstead Branch Over Weekend of November 12-13 for Scheduled Track Work

      Some Babylon, Ronkonkoma and Oyster Bay Trains Impacted As Well

Scheduled track work on the Long Island Rail Road’s Main Line between Queens Village and Mineola over the weekend of November 12 and November 13 will mean reduced service on the Huntington-Port Jefferson and Hempstead branches as well as few changes on the Babylon, Ronkonkoma and Oyster Bay branches.

The LIRR will take one of two main tracks out of service beginning at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 12 so crews can resurface the track area at Queens Interlocking and carry out switch repair work at Nassau Interlocking. The track will be back in service by 4 a.m. on Monday, November 14 in time for the morning rush.  It is all part of the LIRR’s annual State of Good Repair Program – the regularly scheduled replacement of track, switch and signal infrastructure being carried out at a cost of $60 million in 2016. Over the last decade, the LIRRhas invested more than $573 million in such upgrades system wide.

Here is a rundown of the more significant changes.

Westbound

Huntington/Port Jefferson Branch

·         Service between Huntington and Penn Station is reduced from half-hourly to hourly with trains making all local stops from Huntington through New Hyde Park.

·         Service between Port Jefferson and Huntington is reduced from 90 minutes intervals to 2 hour intervals with alternate connections west of Huntington

Hempstead Branch

·         Buses will replace train service to Queens Village and Hollis stations until 8 p.m. on Saturday with customers detraining at Bellerose to board buses to travel to Queens Village and Hollis arriving 20 minutes later than usual.

·         Some Hempstead trains will depart 10-21 minutes later than normal.

Babylon Branch

·         Some Babylon trains will have added stops at Kew Gardens and Forest Hills stations.

Ronkonkoma Branch

·         The 11:05 a.m., 12:05 p.m. and 1:05 p.m. trains to Penn Station are canceled. Customers should board a train 30 minutes earlier or later.

·         The 12:46 a.m. train to Penn Station will depart Ronkonkoma 24 minutes later and arrive 22 minutes later than normal

Oyster Bay Branch

·         Some Oyster Bay trains will depart 10 minutes later than normal

Eastbound

Huntington/Port Jefferson Branch

·         Service between New York and Huntington will be reduced from half-hourly to hourly with trains making all local stops from Huntington through New Hyde Park.

·         Service between Huntington and Port Jefferson will be reduced from one train every 90 minutes to one train every two hours.

·         On Monday, November 14 only, the train scheduled to leave Penn Station at 3:07 a.m. will depart 30 minutes later at 3:37 p.m. from Penn Station

Ronkonkoma Branch

·         The 4:42 p.m., 5:42 p.m. and 6:42 p.m. trains to Ronkonkoma are cancelled. Customers should board trains leaving Penn Station either 30 minutes earlier or 30 minutes later.

·         Some eastbound Ronkonkoma trains will depart Penn Station 2 minutes earlier than normal and arrive at Ronkonkoma up to 7 minutes later than normal.

·         Eastbound Greenport trains will depart Ronkonkoma 10 minutes later than normal and arrive at Greenport 10 minutes later than normal.

Oyster Bay Branch

·         The 1:46 a.m. Oyster Bay train will depart Jamaica 7 minutes earlier than normal and arrive at Oyster Bay Station 9 minutes later than normal.

Hempstead Branch

·         Some Hempstead trains will depart Atlantic Terminal 13 minutes later than normal and arrive at Hempstead 13 minutes later than normal.

For More Information

For train schedules and real-time train status, customers should download LIRRTrain Time™, the Railroad’s official app available via the Apple Store for iOS devices or Google Play Store for Android along with MTA eTix™ - LIRR’s mobile ticketing app which allows customers to buy LIRR tickets on their mobile device -- anytime, anywhere. Customers can also sign up for LIRR Service Alerts via text or email by registering at www.mymtaalerts.com. Assistance is also available from the LIRR’s Customer Service Center by calling 511, the New York State Travel Information Line, and saying: Long Island Rail Road. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, use your preferred service provider for the free 711 relay to reach the LIRR at 511.

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Spokesman

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)

2 Broadway, New York, NY 10004-2207

Press Office: 212-878-7440

Direct Dial: 212-878-4786

Cell: 646-370-0392

Email: salarena@mtahq.org