The Long Island Rail Road will perform routine track inspections between Great Neck and Port Washington during the early morning hours of Saturday, May 20, to ensure the continuing safety and reliability of the tracks. The tests will be performed using a specialized diagnostic car fitted with ultrasonic and induction test equipment and is designed to detect and repair internal rail defects not readily visible to the eye.

 

As a result of the work, buses will substitute for four overnight trains in each direction at Manhasset, Plandome and Port Washington during the early morning hours of Saturday, May 20. This work is scheduled to inconvenience the fewest number of customers possible.

 

The four Port Washington Branch trains that depart Penn Station at 1:16 a.m., 3:04 a.m., 5:19 a.m. and 6:18 a.m. will terminate at Great Neck. Customers looking to travel to Manhasset, Plandome or Port Washington will find buses waiting at Great Neck for continuing service.

 

Buses are scheduled to depart Great Neck 10 minutes after the arrival of the train from Penn Station. Customers should plan for up to 29 minutes of additional travel time.

 

Special bus and train timetables are available at this link: http://web.mta.info/lirr/Timetable/05-20-2017-PW-Sperry.pdf

 

 

The four trains that normally originate at Port Washington at 2:10 a.m., 4:10 a.m., 5:39 a.m. and 6:39 a.m. will instead originate at Great Neck at their regularly scheduled times. Customers traveling from Port Washington, Plandome or Manhasset will find buses at these stations that will connect to the regularly scheduled train at Great Neck. Buses are scheduled to depart up to 30 minutes earlier than the normal train departure times.

As noted above, bus schedules are posted at this link:

 

 

The LIRR encourages customers to sign up for train service updates. Information about this service change and all planned service changes is available via many channels.

 

Email and text message service updates – Customers are encouraged 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.