During the weekends of Sept. 9-10 and 16-17, Long Island Rail Road crews will conduct critical work to advance the LIRR’s Ronkonkoma Branch Double Track Project, which will improve train service by allowing for half-hourly, off-peak service in both directions, increased reverse peak service, and greater flexibility to minimize the impact of service disruptions along the branch. As a result of this work, buses will substitute for LIRR trains at Wyandanch, Deer Park, Brentwood, Central Islip and Ronkonkoma stations for those two 48-hour periods.

The Double Track Project is a $387 million infrastructure project, funded over two capital programs that will add a second track to the 18-mile stretch from Farmingdale to Ronkonkoma by the end of 2018.

The LIRR will perform track work and crossing renewal from 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 8 to 4 a.m. on Sept. 11, along with switch installation work to be done between Carl’s Path Road and Commack Road in Deer Park. On Saturday, Sept. 9, signal equipment will be relocated at Straight Path and 18^th Street, during which periodic single-lane closures may be implemented while equipment is moved, to be completed by 4 p.m. LIRR crews will continue to test signal equipment at these two crossings through Sunday, Sept. 10; while crossing gates may be activated sporadically during this time, no traffic detours will be required for that leg of the work.

From 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15 through the late afternoon on Sunday, Sept. 17, workers will install a new switch west of the Deer Park Station, the first of two switches to be installed on the Main Line to create a new universal interlocking in Deer Park. This work, being done in an industrial area 2,000 feet east of the Commack Road grade crossing north of the Tanger Outlet parking lot, will not impact any roadways. More work will be done from around 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, to be completed by that afternoon, to relocate an existing signal grade crossing hut at Little East Neck Road to the north side of the tracks to make room for the new second track to be on the south side of the existing line. Tests will be performed on the grade crossing equipment at Little East Neck Road through Sunday, Sept. 17. MTA Police will be at the scene to guide traffic for possible single-lane road closures while the hut is lifted to the north side.

On these two weekends, the last arriving train Saturday morning at Farmingdale before the start of construction work will be the 12:48 a.m. from Ronkonkoma. Service on this stretch of track following the weekend work will resume on both Monday mornings at 12:46 a.m., with departures at both Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma stations.

The 4:39 p.m., 5:39 p.m. and 6:39 p.m. trains from Penn Station, as well as the 10:05 a.m., 11:05 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. originating in Ronkonkoma, will not be running on these weekends.

Customers traveling to or from the affected stations on the scheduled work weekends should plan for up to an additional 44 minutes of travel time, or should consider using the Babylon Branch or Port Jefferson Branch, with half-hourly service, as alternatives.

Details of the planned service change are summarized below. A complete train and bus schedule is available at this link: http://web.mta.info/lirr/Timetable/KO-2nd-Track_09-09_to_09-10_and_09-16_to_09-17-2017.pdf

Eastbound

Customers for Pinelawn, Wyandanch, Deer Park, Brentwood, Central Islip and Ronkonkoma will board a bus at Hicksville for the balance of their trip. Customers should expect up to 44 minutes of additional travel time.

Greenport Service: Eastbound customers traveling to Medford, Yaphank, Riverhead, Mattituck, Southold or Greenport should board the 8:12 a.m. and 1:12 p.m. trains from Penn Station one hour earlier than normal for Hicksville and detrain for buses to Ronkonkoma, where normal train service will resume. Passengers boarding at all stations from Farmingdale through Central Islip will board a local bus for Ronkonkoma, to connect with the normal train service to the North Fork. Eastbound Bethpage customers traveling to Greenport will board trains at 9:01 a.m. or 2:01 p.m. for Farmingdale and transfer to local buses, or board an express bus to Ronkonkoma at Hicksville.

Westbound

Customers traveling from Ronkonkoma Central Islip, Brentwood, Deer Park, Wyandanch or Pinelawn should board a bus to depart up to 44 minutes earlier than normally scheduled train times bound for Hicksville, where train service resumes.

Greenport Service: Customers traveling from Greenport, Southold, Mattituck, Riverhead, Yaphank or Medford to points west of Ronkonkoma will detrain at Ronkonkoma and board buses 21 minutes later for Hicksville, where train service will resume. Passengers will arrive at western terminals one hour later than normal. Passengers traveling to Central Islip through Bethpage will board a local bus at Ronkonkoma to their final destinations.

Many Channels for Services Updates

Train and bus departure times for this planned service change are available at this link: http://web.mta.info/lirr/Timetable/KO-2nd-Track_09-09_to_09-10_and_09-16_to_09-17-2017.pdf

Information about this change and all planned service changes is available through the LIRR’s real-time service information sources:

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.

MTA.info – The rail tab of the “Service Status” box at the left side of www.MTA.info is always the definitive source for the latest status for each branch, updated every minute. In addition, customers can visit www.mta.info/lirr to see special service notices in the upper center of the page.

@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.

LIRR Train Time app – Customers who use the LIRR Train Time app will see up-to-the-minute status for each upcoming train at each station. As a caution, trains that start out their trips on time may experience delays en route.

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.