New LIRR schedules take effect Tuesday, adding Oyster Bay, Brooklyn trains
Riders greet a train at the Oyster Bay station in July 2023. The LIRR is rerouting the 7:17 a.m. train from Oyster Bay to Hunters Avenue to go instead to Penn Station, among other changes. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
The Long Island Rail Road’s fall schedule taking effect Tuesday will add more direct morning trains for Oyster Bay and Brooklyn riders, and also bring changes on several other branches, the LIRR said.
The new timetables aim to address lingering complaints from commuters over complications with transferring at Jamaica.
With the opening of Grand Central Madison last year, the LIRR did away with timed connections — meaning trains no longer wait for other trains at Jamaica. The LIRR also replaced most direct service between Brooklyn and Long Island stations with a shuttle train from a dedicated platform at Jamaica.
To reduce the need for transfers, the LIRR is rerouting the 7:17 a.m. train from Oyster Bay to Hunters Avenue to go instead to Penn Station. It’s also adding a 7:26 a.m. train from Valley Stream to Atlantic Terminal, serving local stops on the Far Rockaway branch.
LIRR president Robert Free, in a statement, said the changes were a result of the railroad "monitoring customer riding patterns and acting on the feedback that they provide."
Other schedule changes include bringing back regular weekday evening service to Elmont-UBS Arena for westbound Huntington and Ronkonkoma branch trains, some changes related to renovation work at Babylon and having off-peak Ronkonkoma branch trains primarily serve Penn Station, rather than Grand Central.
For full information on the LIRR’s new schedules, customers can go to the MTA’s website, mta.info or the TrainTime app.
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.
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