Track Work Affects Hempstead/Port Jefferson Branches Weekends of April 10-11 & 17-18
Grade crossing replacements and track resurfacing will result in buses replacing Hempstead Branch trains and Port Jefferson Branch service reductions during two weekends in April.
Track work on a major interlocking in the Queens Village area during April will result in no train service on the weekends of April 10-11 and April 17-18 on the Hempstead Branch.
The work will also lead to reductions in train service on the Port Jefferson/Huntington Branch on those weekends. The track-surfacing work will keep this important section of track in a state of good repair, and when the work is completed, thousands of daily LIRR customers who travel through the area should experience a smoother train ride.
Schedule adjustments will also be made on some Babylon, Far Rockaway, Long Beach, Oyster Bay and Ronkonkoma branch trains during the affected weekends.
These changes will allow for connections with Hempstead Branch and Port Jefferson/Huntington Branch trains.
In addition, two grade crossings will be renewed on the affected weekends. On April 10-11, the Franklin Avenue crossing in Garden City will be renewed; and on April 17-18, the Covert Avenue crossing in Stewart Manor. During this work, local motor vehicle traffic detours will be in place.

Hempstead Branch
Eastbound
Customers will board trains at western terminals then disembark at Jamaica for buses that will take them to their final destinations.
Westbound
Customers will board buses at their stations then change at Jamaica for trains to western terminals.Customers should anticipate up to 33 minutes additional travel time.

Port Jefferson/Huntington Branch
Customers traveling to and from Huntington will have hourly train service instead of half-hourly train service. Customers traveling east of Huntington to Port Jefferson will have train service every two hours instead of every 90 minutes.

Customers should pick up a copy of the special April 10-11, April 17-18 branch timetables at stations or terminals. For train schedule information customers can contact the LIRR’s 24-hour Travel Information Center in Suffolk County at 631-231-LIRR, in Nassau County at 516-822-LIRR or New York City at 718-217-LIRR. The Travel Information Center’s TDD number for hearing impaired is 718-558-3022. Customers can also consult the LIRR’s website.

 

May 17 New Schedule
Recently, the MTA approved service changes necessitated by a nearly $800 million budget shortfall for 2010. All customers should watch for the LIRR schedules that will go into effect on Monday, May 17, as they will include the first wave of those changes:

• cancellation/combination of one Port Washington Branch PM Peak train;
• cancellation of one Long Beach Branch PM Peak train;
• cancellation/combination of one Babylon Branch AM Peak train, and two Babylon Branch PM Peak trains;
• changes to a Port Jefferson Branch PM Peak train;
• cancellation of some weekend service on the Oyster Bay Branch;
• and the discontinuation of service to Belmont Park (except on the day of the Belmont Stakes).

When the new schedules are published, they will be available online and at terminals and stations around the system.

Take The Train To The Game
The LIRR remains the best way to get to Mets home games. Train service to Mets-Willets Point is available on eastbound Port Washington Branch trains from Penn Station and westbound trains from Great Neck and Port Washington. The train ride is just 18 minutes from Penn Station to Mets-Willets Point.For those traveling on the LIRR from Long Island, the ballpark is just six minutes from Woodside, 17 minutes from Great Neck and 27 minutes from Port Washington. From Long Island, customers may go directly to the stadium from Port Washington Branch stations. Customers from other branches should transfer at Woodside.

 

Long Beach - No Service May 1-2 & 15-16
Long Beach Branch customers should mark the weekends of May 1-2 and 15-16 … when buses will replace all train service between Long Beach and Valley Stream while two bridges are reconstructed. You will be able to access the special schedules on our website. An icon of a bus will appear on the cover of the bright orange timetables. Look for them at the stations that are affected. We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding while we complete this important project.

 

No Montauk Branch Service
Service between Babylon and Speonk will be suspended during the weekend of April 24-25 in support of the second phase of a soil remediation project being performed by National Grid in the Bay Shore area. Eastbound customers will board buses at Babylon for stations Bay Shore through Speonk, and transfer to trains at Speonk to complete their trips. Westbound customers from Montauk through Westhampton will take trains to Speonk where they will transfer to express bus service to Babylon, and then transfer back to trains to complete their trips. Customers from stations Speonk through Bay Shore will take either express or local buses to Babylon from their stations, then transfer to trains at Babylon to complete their trips. Customers should anticipate increased travel time of up to 50 minutes. Visit our website for additional details.

 

Monthly On Time Performance
March OTP came in at 92.38%.

BRANCH	AM Peak	PM Peak	Off- Peak	Total March 2010	Total March 2009
Babylon	93.2	91.0	91.4	91.7	92.9
Far Rockaway	93.3	97.6	92.6	93.3	96.1
Hicksville/Huntington	90.4	89.1	88.3	88.7	93.8
Hempstead	95.7	93.7	96.7	96.2	95.6
Long Beach	96.0	94.5	94.6	94.8	95.1
Montauk	91.3	88.8	90.0	90.0	91.6
Oyster Bay	98.1	91.3	92.5	93.3	94.6
Port Jefferson	90.8	90.7	90.4	90.5	90.4
Port Washington	91.6	95.0	96.0	95.2	95.8
Greenport/Ronkonkoma	87.0	90.7	88.4	88.5	92.7
West Hempstead	96.5	94.9	98.1	97.4	95.4
TOTAL	92.5	92.3	92.4	92.4	94.0

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