LIRR service both ways for Islanders games this fall, UBS Arena says

Long Island hockey fans will be able to take a train from both directions to and from the Islanders’ 2022-23 fall home opener and all games after that, arena officials confirmed Wednesday.

On its Twitter account, the UBS Arena announced the “great news for #Isles fans and concert goers.”

“Westbound service at UBS Arena-Elmont Station will open in time for the @NYIslanders season,” the arena tweeted.

In November, the Long Island Rail Road opened its new Elmont-UBS Arena station in time for the Islanders’ first game in the venue. But, currently, only eastbound trains on the Hempstead Branch serve the station. Fans looking to access the arena by trains to the arena from points east have to overshoot the arena, then double back.

The LIRR has said it aims to start westbound service at the station by the end of July, and took a major step toward that goal in March with the construction of a pedestrian overpass connecting the eastbound and westbound platforms.

“Installing this pedestrian overpass in a single weekend shows the ingenuity and resourcefulness of our team in their efforts to make Elmont a full-service destination for riders,” MTA Construction & Development president Jamie Torres-Springer said in a statement. “As New Yorkers return to hockey games, concerts and other events, the LIRR will be prepared to get them there in the most convenient way available.”

Switch upgrades included in the LIRR’s ongoing Third Track project between Floral Park and Hicksville will also help the railroad run trains in both directions through the new station.

The Elmont-UBS Arena station — the LIRR’s first new station in nearly 50 years — and other rail upgrades near the arena cost about $105 million. The arena’s developer covered $97 million, and New York State funded the remaining $8 million.

The UBS Arena, on Twitter, also noted that Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday that the LIRR’s “new Grand Central Madison terminal will be completed in December, providing more service to arena events."

The LIRR currently only runs trains to and from the new station when events are scheduled at the arena. Railroad officials have said they intend to eventually provide round-the-clock service at the station, but will require capacity upgrades on the Main Line that are coming as part of the Third Track. The $2.6 billion effort is also scheduled to be completed in December.

Islanders season ticket holder Ryan Paulsen, of Manhattan, who regularly used the LIRR to get to games during this past NHL season, said upgrades are urgently needed to make the service more convenient. Without westbound trains running out of the new station, fans had the option of just two shuttle trains to Jamaica out of the old Belmont Park station after events, or traveling to the Queens Village station to catch a train.

“It minimally takes until 11:08 to just get back to Penn, when games usually end at 9:55 … On average it takes me to 11:45 to get home,” said Paulsen, 36, who called the postgame LIRR service levels a “massive problem.”

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.