Beginning Monday, March 17, the Long Island Rail Road’s Oyster Bay branch will receive two additional trains and a schedule adjustment. The new train schedule will run until Sunday, May 18.
“The best way to create an amazing customer experience is to provide reliable, convenient, and frequent service to our customers,” said Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free in a press release.
Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino expressed appreciation for the upgrade.
“This is fantastic news for Oyster Bay residents who rely on the LIRR,” Saladino said.
The two new evening trains, one eastbound and one westbound, are intended to close the current gaps in service. Additionally, one eastbound train has been rescheduled to increase service frequency. The trains are not direct.
The new eastbound train will depart Penn Station at 11:17 p.m. and arrive at Oyster Bay at 12:44 a.m. The current 10:58 p.m. train from Penn Station will now depart 16 minutes earlier at 10:42 p.m. and arrive in Oyster Bay at 12:09 a.m.
The MTA said the added train and schedule adjustment will close the existing 79-minute gap in the branch’s service.
The new westbound train will depart from Oyster Bay at 7:09 p.m. and arrive at Penn Station at 8:35 p.m. The train cuts the current almost two-and-a-half-hour gap in evening service by more than half, according to the MTA.
“These new trains create more travel opportunities for people to experience all that Long Island and NYC have to offer in the evening,” Free said.
“I thank the LIRR for listening to our concerns and making these much-needed changes,” Saladino said.
Local officials have voiced their support for the schedule changes.
“Running trains more frequently is always a good thing,” U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi said in a press release. “We need to keep pushing to decrease travel times and increase frequency for Long Islanders traveling to and from New York City.”
“I am very pleased to learn about these improvements to service on the Oyster Bay branch,” said state Assembly Member Charles D. Lavine in a press release.
In September, Lavine said he worked with MTA officials to add an additional direct train to Penn Station during the morning rush hour.
As of Sept. 3, the 5:58 a.m. and 7:17 a.m. trains run directly to Penn and do not require transfer at the Jamaica station. In September, Lavine said he would continue working with the MTA to secure direct evening peak trains on the Oyster Bay branch.
“I thank LIRR president Rob Free for his leadership and ongoing commitment to make things better for North Shore riders,” he said.
The branch begins at Oyster Bay and stops at Locust Valley, Glen Cove, Glen Street, Sea Cliff, Glen Head, Greenvale, Roslyn and East Williston before entering Queens.
MTA officials said the branch’s schedule after Sunday, May 18, has yet to be determined. For more information on train times, visit mta.info.
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