Long Island Rail Road workers will perform routine track inspections on the Montauk Branch during mid-day off-peak hours from Monday, April 17, through Thursday, April 20. The tests will be performed using a specialized diagnostic car fitted with ultrasonic and induction test equipment and is designed to detect internal rail defects not readily visible to the eye. Any defects that are found will be corrected immediately.

 

“The continued safety of our rails is of utmost importance to the LIRR, and this specialized ultrasonic rail testing is an important component of our efforts to keep our tracks safe,” said LIRR President Patrick Nowakowski. “We know service disruptions can be an inconvenience, so we’ve worked hard to plan this outage so that it will impact the fewest customers possible. At this time of year, ridership on the Montauk Branch is higher on weekends than weekdays, so we are planning this important safety-related work to take place during weekday off-peak hours.”

 

As a result of the work, buses will substitute for select trains on each of the four days. Because the track inspections will cover new segments of track each day, the specifics of the bus substitution changes from each day to the next.

 

Details of the planned service change are summarized below. A complete train and bus schedule is available at this link:

 

Buses will substitute for four trains between Bay Shore and Patchogue and two trains between Bay Shore and Speonk.

 

Buses will substitute for the three trains that depart from Babylon at 9:26 a.m., 10:27 a.m. and 11:27 a.m.  The first two make all stops to Patchogue and the third makes all stops to Speonk. Customers seeking to travel to any station between Bay Shore and Speonk during this time will find buses waiting for regularly scheduled arriving trains at Babylon. Customers should plan for up to 23 minutes additional travel time (depending upon destination).

 

Buses will substitute for the three trains that normally depart Patchogue at 9:25 a.m., 10:25 a.m. and 11:25 a.m. and make all stops to Babylon where they connect with trains to New York City. Customers looking to travel from any station from Patchogue through Bay Shore will find buses, which will depart up to 36 minutes later than normal train departure times. Buses will connect at Babylon with Babylon Branch trains that arrive at Penn Station 57 minutes later than the usual Montauk Branch train connections. Customers should look to the special timetable to find bus departure times and information on connecting trains.

 

Buses will substitute for parts of six trains, east of Patchogue.

Three trains will terminate at Patchogue to connect with buses will make all continuing stops.

Customers will experience up to 41 minutes of additional travel time (depending upon destination).

 

Two trains that originate at Montauk, at 11:18 a.m. and 2:51 p.m., will originate at Patchogue at their usual Patchogue departure times, and the 2:00 p.m. departure from Speonk will originate at Patchogue at its usual Patchogue departure time of 2:30 p.m. Customers looking for trains at all stations between Montauk and Bellport will find buses, departing up to an hour and five minutes later than normal train departure times. Buses will connect to regularly scheduled trains at Patchogue. Customers should look to the special timetable to find bus departure times and information on connecting trains.

 

Buses will substitute for parts of four trains, between Westhampton and Montauk.

 

The 8:52 a.m. train from Babylon, due into Montauk at 10:52 a.m., and the 11:30 a.m. train from Jamaica, due into Montauk at 2:15 p.m., will terminate at Speonk where they will connect with buses making all stops from Westhampton to Montauk. Customers will experience up to 28 minutes additional travel time (depending upon destination).

 

The 11:18 a.m. train from Montauk, due into Jamaica at 2:19 p.m., and the 2:51 p.m. train from Montauk, due into Jamaica at 5:50 p.m., will originate at Speonk. Customers at all stations from Montauk through Westhampton will find buses, departing up to one hour and sixteen minutes later than usual train departure times. Buses substituting for the morning train will connect with the 2:00 p.m. train from Speonk, due into Jamaica at 3:37 p.m. Buses substituting for the afternoon train will connect with the 5:26 p.m. train from Patchogue, due into Babylon at 5:58 p.m. for connecting service to New York City. Customers should look to the special timetable to find bus departure times and information on connecting trains.

 

Buses will substitute for five trains, between Bay Shore and Patchogue.

 

Buses will substitute for the two trains that depart from Babylon at 9:26 a.m. and 10:27 a.m., making all stops to Patchogue. Customers seeking to travel to any station between Bay Shore and Speonk during this time will find buses waiting for regularly scheduled arriving trains at Babylon. Customers should plan for up to 23 minutes additional travel time (depending upon destination).

 

Buses will substitute for the three trains that normally depart Patchogue at 9:25 a.m., 10:25 a.m. and 11:25 a.m. and make all stops to Babylon where they connect with trains to New York City. Customers looking to travel from any station from Patchogue through Bay Shore will find buses, which will depart up to 36 minutes later than normal train departure times. Buses will connect at Babylon with Babylon Branch trains that arrive at Penn Station 57 minutes later than the usual Montauk Branch train connections. Customers should look to the special timetable to find bus departure times and information on connecting trains.

 

 

In accordance with usual procedures when there is a planned service disruption, the LIRR is printing posters and issuing social media messaging to advise customers of the change, and will place fliers on train seats and include information in the LIRR’s customer newsletter, TrainTalk. The LIRR is notifying all elected officials representing the area.

 

Information about planned service changes like this one is always made available via many methods:

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.infois always the definitive source for the latest status for each branch, updated every minute. In addition, customers can visit www.mta.info/lirrto 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.