December 20, 2019

LIRR Announces Timetable Changes Effective Jan. 6: Limited Rush Hour Changes Result from Next Phase of Amtrak’s Penn Station Renewal; Off-Peak Changes Result from LIRR Expansion and Lynbrook Renewal

 

Service Changes Reflect Service Levels of January 2018 and January 2019 During Previous Phases of Amtrak’s Work
 
Seven Morning Rush Trains and Six Evening Rush Trains Affected; To Offset These Changes, Five Trains Being Added and Select Trains to Be Lengthened; Rush Hour Seating Capacity Reduction Limited to 1%
 
As a result of the next phase of Amtrak’s ongoing work to renew infrastructure at Penn Station, MTA Long Island Rail Road today announced that new timetables in effect Jan. 6 through March 8 will reroute or cancel five of 144 morning rush trains and six of 130 evening rush trains. Five trains are being added immediately before and after rush hours. By lengthening select trains, the LIRR is limiting the overall reduction in seating capacity to less than 1%. Amtrak’s work is temporarily taking Penn Station’s Track 14 out of service.
 
During off-peak hours, work that the LIRR is doing to renew the Lynbrook Station, and to add a third track to the Main Line between Floral Park and Hicksville will result in schedule adjustments on Main Line and South Shore branches.
 
Rush hour changes will be similar to those put in place in January 2019 and January 2018. Three morning peak trains to Penn Station will be rerouted to Atlantic Terminal; one morning peak train to Penn Station will terminate in Jamaica; one morning peak train to Penn Station will not operate. In the evening rush, two trains will originate at Atlantic Terminal instead of Penn Station, one train will originate at Jamaica instead of Penn Station; two trains will not operate, and one evening reverse-peak train will be diverted to Atlantic Terminal.
 
In both the morning and evening rush hours, stops will be added to trains as necessary to preserve service opportunities from diverted or cancelled trains, and cars will be added to lengthen select existing trains.
 
To help offset these changes and maintain maximum capacity, two trains will be added to Penn Station in the early AM rush, as well as two trains added in the early afternoon from Penn Station, and one new peak train from Hunterspoint Avenue.
 
“We’ve worked hard to provide the best possible options for the least amount of disruption while this critical work continues,” said LIRR President Phil Eng. “We appreciate our customers’ patience during this time and look forward to sharing the benefits of the more reliable infrastructure Amtrak is putting into place.” 
 
Service is expected to return to normal after March 8. As work continues and planning is ongoing, the LIRR will be working closely with Amtrak to determine the best strategy to allow for these critical projects to progress while causing minimal impacts to LIRR customers. The LIRR will inform customers as new information become available.
 
The LIRR is planning a robust communications effort to make sure customers know their travel options ahead of time. Customer communications will be issued via our email/text alert system, notices on our digital screens system-wide, recorded platform announcements, on social media, and in our monthly newsletter, MyLIRR. Customers can sign up to receive email/text alerts that can be tailored to their specific commuting times/branches by visiting this link. The new timetables will be posted to this web page on MTA.info as soon as they become available, and will be distributed in paper format at stations system-wide.
 
Service details for the new timetables effective Jan. 6 through March 8 are below:
 
Babylon Branch
  • The 12:50 a.m. overnight train from Babylon to Penn Station will depart 10 minutes later at 1:00 a.m., and due to customer requests, will add stops at Lynbrook (1:39 a.m.) and Woodside (2:04 a.m.), arriving Penn Station at 2:15 a.m.
  • The 5:43 a.m. train from Freeport, stopping at Baldwin (5:46 a.m.), Rockville Centre (5:49 a.m.), Jamaica (6:06 a.m.), and arriving Penn Station at 6:24 a.m. (originally added as an extra train) will continue to operate as part of our regular weekday schedule.
  • The 6:56 a.m. express train from Wantagh, stopping at Bellmore, Merrick, then arriving at Penn Station at 7:43 a.m., will be rerouted to Atlantic Terminal (arriving at 7:45 a.m.), with an added stop at Jamaica for connecting service.
  • The 7:44 a.m. train from Merrick, stopping at Freeport, Baldwin and Penn Station, will depart three minutes earlier at 7:41 a.m., and will terminate at Jamaica, where customers can board connecting trains to points west.
  • The 8:03 a.m. local train from Babylon to Penn Station will add a stop at Forest Hills (8:58 a.m.).
  • The 8:25 a.m. train from Freeport, stopping at Baldwin, Rockville Centre, Jamaica and Penn Station, will be rerouted to Atlantic Terminal (arriving at 9:07 a.m.).
  • The 5:36 p.m. train from Penn Station to Babylon will add stops at Forest Hills (5:51 p.m.), Kew Gardens (5:53 p.m.), and Jamaica (6:01 p.m.) to accommodate customers who normally take a train that’s being diverted.
  • The 5:45 p.m. train from Atlantic Terminal to Babylon will depart two minutes earlier at 5:43 p.m.
  • An extra p.m. Peak train will depart Hunterspoint Avenue at 7:02 p.m., stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, Baldwin and Freeport (arriving at 7:42 p.m.).
  • The 5:35 p.m. westbound train from Babylon to Penn Station will make added stops at Forest Hills and Kew Gardens to accommodate customers from another diverted train.
Far Rockaway Branch
  • The 5:54 a.m. train from Far Rockaway to Penn Station will be lengthened by two cars.
  • The 8:10 a.m. train from Far Rockaway to Penn Station will not operate. Two cars will be added to the next scheduled train to Penn Station, departing Far Rockaway at 8:21 a.m. The LIRR also suggests customers consider the 7:49 a.m. train from Far Rockaway.
  • The 5:32 p.m. train from Penn Station, due at Far Rockaway at 6:24 p.m., will instead originate at Jamaica at 5:52 p.m. Customers at Penn Station can take the 5:24 p.m. train to Freeport and change at Jamaica for connecting service. The 5:53 p.m. train from Far Rockaway to Penn Station will be rerouted to Atlantic Terminal instead of Penn Station. Customers can transfer at Jamaica for connecting service to Penn.
Hempstead Branch
  • The 5:38 p.m. train from Penn Station, due at Hempstead at 6:36 p.m., will instead originate from Atlantic Terminal at 5:46 p.m. Customers at Penn Station can take the 5:33 p.m. train to Cold Spring Harbor and change at Jamaica for connecting service to Hempstead.
  • The 7:05 p.m. train from Penn Station, due at Hempstead at 7:56 p.m., will instead originate from Atlantic Terminal at 7:09 p.m. Customers at Penn Station can take the 7:08 p.m. train to Babylon and change at Jamaica for connecting service to Hempstead.
Long Beach Branch
  • The 7:56 a.m. train from Long Beach to Atlantic Terminal will operate express between Jamaica and Atlantic Terminal. Customers can transfer in Jamaica for connecting service to East New York and Nostrand Avenue.
  • The 8:03 a.m. train from Long Beach to Penn Station will be rerouted to Atlantic Terminal (arriving at 8:54 a.m.), with an added stop at Jamaica for connecting service.
  • The 10:57 p.m. train from Long Beach to Penn Station will add a Woodside stop (11:43p.m.) as the result of a customer request.
Port Jefferson Branch
  • The 5:06 p.m. express from Penn Station, stopping at Syosset, Cold Spring Harbor and Huntington, not operate. The 5:17 p.m. train from Penn Station, which runs express to Westbury then Hicksville, will add stops at Syosset, Cold Spring Harbor and Huntington.
  • The 5:33 p.m. train from Penn Station to Hicksville will be extended with added stops at Syosset (6:41 p.m.) and Cold Spring Harbor (6:46 p.m.).
Port Washington Branch
  • An extra train to Great Neck will depart Penn Station at 3:40 p.m., stopping at Woodside, then making all local stops to Great Neck (arriving at 4:15 p.m.).
  • The 5:50 p.m. train from Penn Station, due at Great Neck at 6:19 p.m., will be canceled and combined with the 5:56 p.m. train to Great Neck (arriving at 6:32 p.m.). Four cars will be added to the 5:56 p.m. train.
  • The 6:44 p.m. westbound train from Great Neck to Penn Station will depart 3 minutes later at 6:47 p.m., and arrive in Penn Station 1 minute later than usual.
Ronkonkoma Branch
 
Several a.m. Peak trains on the Ronkonkoma Branch will be restored to their prior schedule east of Hicksville following the end of speed restrictions in areas prone to slippery rail/low-adhesion conditions.
 
The affected trains are: 
  • The 5:12 a.m. train from Farmingdale, stopping at Bethpage (5:16 a.m.), Hicksville (5:22 a.m.), Mineola (5:30 a.m.), New Hyde Park (5:33 a.m.), Jamaica (5:46 a.m.), and arriving at Penn Station at 6:05 a.m. (originally added as an extra train) will continue to operate as part of our regular weekday schedule.
  • The 5:19 a.m. train from Greenport to Ronkonkoma will depart 11 minutes later, at 5:30 a.m., and will arrive in Ronkonkoma at 6:53 a.m.
  • The 6:48 a.m. westbound train from Ronkonkoma will depart 8 minutes later, at 6:56 a.m., also departing later from stations through Bethpage.
  • The 6:55 a.m. westbound train from Ronkonkoma will depart 9 minutes later, at 7:04 a.m., also departing later from stations through Bethpage.
  • The 7:21 a.m. westbound train from Ronkonkoma will depart 2 minutes earlier at 7:19 a.m., also departing earlier from stations Central Islip and Brentwood.
  • The 7:29 a.m. westbound train from Ronkonkoma will depart 3 minutes later at 7:32 a.m., also departing later from stations through Farmingdale.
  • The 7:50 a.m. westbound train from Farmingdale will depart 1 minute later at 7:51 a.m., also departing later from Bethpage Station.
  • The 7:57 a.m. train from Ronkonkoma to Penn Station will add a stop at Kew Gardens (9:00 a.m.) to accommodate customers from another canceled train.
  • An extra train to Ronkonkoma will depart Penn Station at 1:30 p.m., stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, Bethpage, then local stops to Ronkonkoma (arriving at 2:50 p.m.).
West Hempstead Branch
  • The 7:36 a.m. train from West Hempstead to Penn Station will depart 2 minutes earlier, at 7:34 a.m.
Other Temporary Schedule Adjustments starting Jan. 6:
 
During midday off-peak hours, overnights and on weekends, one of two tracks along the Main Line between New Hyde Park and Hicksville will be out of service to allow for work on the LIRR Expansion Project. Some Huntington trains will depart 11-19 minutes later. Some Ronkonkoma Branch trains will depart up to 18 minutes earlier or 30 minutes later than usual.
 
To allow for Lynbrook Station Improvements being made in coordination with post-Superstorm Sandy Long Beach Branch infrastructure restoration and resiliency work, one of two tracks will be out of service during weekday middays between Valley Stream and Long Beach and between Valley Stream and Rockville Centre. As a result of this work, departure times for some weekday, midday trains on the Babylon, Far Rockaway, Long Beach, Montauk and West Hempstead branches will be adjusted between 1 minute and 14 minutes.
 
Many Channels for Services Updates
 
Information about the service changes 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, on a smartphone-optimized map that refreshes every 3- to 5-seconds, by logging into 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 new.MTA.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.
 
The above communications channels can be accessed while at home or on the go. For customers who are located at stations, the LIRR will post the latest service updates on digital signs at station platforms and will make audio announcements over public address systems, and on-board announcements made by train crews.
 
For those who prefer the telephone, information is available from the LIRR’s Customer Service Center by calling 511, the New York State Travel Information Line, and saying: “Long Island Rail Road” Those who are deaf or hard of hearing can use their preferred service provider for the free 711 relay to reach the LIRR at 511.
 

 
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