The Long Island Rail Road will perform cyclical rail safety tests on the Port Washington Branch during overnight hours on Oct. 12-13 while the City of New York concurrently demolishes a decommissioned pedestrian bridge over the LIRR’s tracks in Bayside. More details on the pedestrian bridge demolition are available at nyc.gov/ddc.  

 

The rail safety tests are performed by a Sperry Rail Car, a train car 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.

 

As a result of the two concurrent projects, buses will substitute for trains during the early morning hours of Saturday, Oct. 12, between Woodside and Port Washington, and during the early morning hours of Sunday, Oct. 13, between Great Neck and Port Washington.

 

Between 10 a.m. and midnight on both nights, service between Penn Station and Great Neck is increased to half-hourly with added stops at Mets-Willets Point to accommodate the Rolling Loud Festival at Citi Field.

 

At other times of day for four weekends starting Oct. 12-13, Port Washington Branch service will operate hourly, instead of the normal half-hourly, as a result of East Side Access signal testing. Details of that work are conveyed in a separate press release and are also available via special timetables and the LIRR’s digital channels given at end of this press release.

 

Special Port Washington Branch timetables can be found online at http://web.mta.info/lirr/Timetable/SpecialTT/10-12_13_2019-ESA-GO503-PW.PDF

 

A summary follows.

 

From midnight to 8 a.m., buses will replace trains between Woodside and Port Washington.

 

Eastbound customers may take trains to Woodside and transfer to buses departing at 12:38 a.m., 1:38 a.m., 3:25 p.m., 5:39 a.m. and 6:37 a.m.

 

Westbound customers may take buses departing Port Washington at 1:03 a.m., 2:58 a.m., 4:28 a.m. and 5:33 a.m. to connect with trains at Woodside.

 

Buses will also be available for customers to make local stops in either direction between Flushing-Main Street and Port Washington. Eastbound buses leave from Flushing Main Street at 12:36 a.m., 1:36 a.m., 3:30 a.m., 5:36 a.m. and 6:36 a.m.

 

From midnight to 8 a.m., buses will replace trains between Great Neck and Port Washington.

 

Eastbound customers may take trains to Great Neck and transfer to buses departing at 1:02 a.m., 2:02 a.m., 3:50 a.m., 6:05 a.m., and 7:02 a.m.

 

Westbound customers may take buses departing Port Washington at 12:11 a.m., 1:41 a.m., 3:39 a.m., 5:08 a.m., 6:08 a.m. and 7:11 a.m. to connect with trains at Great Neck.

 

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 in real time, 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.