New LIRR Budget Calls for Return of Weekend Trains to West Hempstead

Long Island Rail Road will soon restore service to the West Hempstead branch, Metropolitan Transit Authority officials announced Monday.

As part of a $3.4 million investment, LIRR’s preliminary budget calls for weekend service to return to the West Hempstead branch along with other improvements on Huntington, Port Washington, Babylon, Hempstead, Oyster Bay and Montauk lines.

Trains will run about every two hours on weekends between West Hempstead and Penn Station. The change is scheduled to go into effect Nov. 22.

LIRR President Patrick Nowakowski said officials were “especially pleased to be able to restore weekend West Hempstead branch service.”

For East End weekenders, LIRR will add 10 weeks of extra weekend service to its normal scheduling to the Hamptons and Montauk. Beginning in October, one extra eastbound and westbound train will be added to the schedule through Thanksgiving. Beginning in May, more trains will be added.

In Sept. 2015, Babylon, Patchogue, and Oyster Bay branches will feature extra weekend service.

Extra cars will also be added to six notoriously crowded rush hour trains on the Hempstead, Ronkonkoma, Babylon, Huntington, and Port Washington branches. More details here.

“Long Islanders rely on the LIRR, and adding service for our customers is an important part of our commitment to serve them,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas Prendergast. “More trains, more cars and more service mean fewer cars on the road and more options for everyone on Long Island.”