MTA Long Island Rail Road today announced that this coming weekend, July 13-14, crews will replace a switch east of Syosset station, and on Saturday, July 13, will perform cyclical rail safety tests on the Port Washington Branch. As a result of this important work, there will be service changes on the Port Jefferson Branch and the Port Washington Branch. Details are below.

 

Crews will replace a switch east of Syosset. The switch, at a location that railroad employees know as “Amott Interlocking,” allows the railroad to switch trains between the two tracks between Huntington and Hicksville.

 

As a result of this work, weekend service to and from Syosset, Cold Spring Harbor, and Huntington will operate hourly instead of every 30 minutes. Service to and from Port Jefferson will operate every two hours instead of every 90 minutes.

 

Service between Hicksville and New York City is unaffected.

 

Train departure times for July 13-14 are available via the MYmta and LIRR Train Time apps and at MTA.info. A complete special timetable covering these two days can be found at this link:

 

In order to ensure the continuing safety and reliability of the rails, the Long Island Rail Road will perform cyclical rail safety tests on the Port Washington Branch on Saturday, July 13. The tests are performed by the Sperry Rail Car, a bright yellow train fitted with ultrasonic and induction test equipment and is designed to detect internal defects inside the running rails that are not readily visible to the eye. Defects that are found will be corrected immediately by LIRR track maintenance workers.

 

Train service on most of the branch will operate at normally scheduled times, but as a result of the work, buses will substitute for trains at Manhasset, Plandome and Port Washington between midnight and 5 p.m.

 

During this time period, westbound trains will originate at Great Neck at their normal times. Customers looking to travel from Port Washington, Plandome or Manhasset will be able to board buses to Great Neck to connect with regularly scheduled train service. Buses depart up to 30 minutes earlier than normally scheduled trains.

 

Eastbound trains will terminate at Great Neck, where customers will be able to connect with buses for Manhasset, Plandome or Port Washington. Customers should plan for up to 29 additional minutes of travel time.

 

Train and bus departure times are available via the MYmta and LIRR Train Time apps, and at MTA.info. A complete special timetable for July 13 can be found at this link:

 

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, 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.