Buses will replace trains over four consecutive days along separate sections of the Montauk Branch beginning Monday, October 31 and ending on Thursday, November 3 as MTA Long Island Rail Road conducts its regular fall diagnostic testing of track conditions using the specialized Sperry Rail Car.

The Sperry Rail Car, a bright yellow vehicle fitted with ultrasonic and induction test equipment, is designed to detect internal rail defects not readily visible to the eye. Defects that are found will be corrected immediately by a crew of LIRR track maintenance workers. The Sperry Car, used to inspect all 500 miles of LIRR Track twice a year, supplements the LIRR’s regular visual track inspections. 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 LIRR has invested more than $573 million in the program.

Monday, October 31. 2016 – Babylon to Patchogue

Buses replace trains between Babylon and Patchogue from 9:16 a.m. until noon for Sperry Rail Testing.

Westbound

• The 9:25 a.m., 10:25 a.m. and 11:25 a.m. trains from Patchogue will be replaced by bus service making all stops to Babylon where train service will resume to points west. The buses will depart up to 36 minutes later than usual train times.

Eastbound

• Customers traveling to stations Bay Shore through Speonk will travel by train to Babylon and there board buses for travel to east of Babylon to Montauk. They will experience up to 23 minutes of additional travel time depending upon their destination.

Tuesday, November 1 – Patchogue to Montauk

Buses replace train service between 8 a.m. until 5:15 p.m. for Sperry Rail Testing.

Westbound

• The 11:18 a.m. and 2:51 a.m. trains from Montauk and the 2 p.m. train from Speonk will be replaced by bus service. Customers at stations Montauk through Bellport will board buses to Patchogue where train service will resume. Customers will board buses up to 1 hour and 5 minutes later than usual and will experience up t0 32 minutes of additional travel time.

Eastbound

• The 8:52 a.m. and 11:27 a.m. trains from Babylon and the 11:30 a.m. train from Jamaica will terminate at Patchogue.
• Customer traveling to stations Bellport through Montauk will detrain at Patchogue and board buses to their final destination experiencing up to 41 minutes of extra travel time.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016 – Speonk to Montauk

Buses will replace trains beginning at 6:49 a.m. until 6:15 p.m. for Sperry Rail Testing

Westbound  

• Customers at stations Montauk through Westhampton will board buses to Speonk or Patchogue where train service will resume. Customers will board buses up to 1 hour and 16 minutes later and travel time will increase by up to 28 minutes depending on destination.

Eastbound

• Customers traveling to stations Westhampton through Montauk will detrain at Speonk and board buses to their final destination. Customers will experience up to 1 hour and 5 minutes of additional travel time depending upon destination.

Thursday, November 3, 2016 – Babylon to Patchogue

Buses will replace trains beginning at 9:16 a.m. until noon for Sperry Rail Testing

Westbound

• The 9: 25 a.m., 10:25 a.m. and 11:25 a.m. trains from Patchogue will be replaced by buses Customer at stations Patchogue through Bay Shore will board buses to Babylon where train service resumes. Buses depart up to 36 minutes later. Travel time will increase by up to 33 minutes

Eastbound

• Customers traveling to stations Bay Shore through Patchogue will have train service to Babylon where they will board buses to their final destinations with 23 minutes of additional travel time.

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.