Long Island Rail Road to run extra trains on Thanksgiving Day

The Long Island Rail Road has scheduled extra eastbound and westbound trains on multiple branches this Thanksgiving as transportation hubs across the nation anticipate record levels of holiday travel.

The agency will run its standard weekday schedule on Wednesday, then its weekend schedule on Thursday, according to a news release.

Six additional westbound trains split between the Babylon and Ronkonkoma branches will take Long Islanders, including fans of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, to Penn and Grand Central Madison stations on Thursday.

According to the MTA, the Babylon Branch schedule will be amended with:

• A 6:24 a.m. train that will make all local stops through Rockville Centre, then stop at Jamaica before arriving at Penn Station at 7:34 a.m.
• A 7:02 a.m. train that will make all local stops from Babylon to Rockville Centre, stop at Jamaica and pull into Grand Central at 8:14 a.m.
• A 7:27 a.m. train that will stop at all local stations through Rockville Centre, stop at Jamaica, arrive at Penn Station at 8:41 a.m.

The agency said the following trains will be added to the Ronkonkoma Branch schedule on Thursday:

• A 6:15 a.m. train that will make all local stops through Bethpage, plus Hicksville, Mineola and Jamaica before pulling into Penn Station at 7:37 a.m.
• A 6:48 a.m. train that will stop at all local stations from Ronkonkoma through Bethpage, plus Hicksville, Mineola and Jamaica before terminating at Grand Central at 8:11 a.m.
• A 7:01 a.m. train that will depart from Farmingdale, make all stops through New Hyde Park plus Jamaica, then arrive at Penn Station at 8:02 a.m.

For Long Islanders looking to get back home for turkey Thursday afternoon, the MTA announced nine additional LIRR trains.

On the Babylon Branch, these include:

• A 11:32 a.m. train from Penn Station that will stop at Jamaica, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre and then all local stops through Babylon.
• A 12:08 p.m. train from Penn Station that will stop at Jamaica, then all local stations between Rockville Centre and Babylon.
• A 12:28 p.m. train from Grand Central that will stop at Jamaica, Lynbrook and all local stations from Rockville Centre to Babylon.
• A 12:48 p.m. train out of Grand Central that will stop at Jamaica then all local stations from Rockville Centre to Babylon.

On the Ronkonkoma Branch, these include:

• A 11:20 a.m. train from Penn Station that will stop at Jamaica, New Hyde Park and all local stops to Farmingdale, where it will terminate.
• A 12:13 p.m. train from Grand Central that will stop at Jamaica and Mineola, plus all local stops to Ronkonkoma.
• A 12:34 p.m. train from Penn Station that will stop at Jamaica, Mineola and Hicksville, then all local stations through Ronkonkoma.
• A 12:51 p.m. train from Grand Central that will stop at Jamaica, Mineola and Hicksville, then all local stations through Ronkonkoma.

The LIRR also scheduled one additional eastbound train on the Port Jefferson line, which will depart Grand Central at 12:42 p.m., stop at Jamaica and make all local stops from New Hyde Park to Huntington.

On Friday, the LIRR will adhere to its regular weekday schedule. However, off-peak fares will be accepted on all trains, according to the release.

The MTA also announced it will prohibit the consumption of alcohol at LIRR stations and on trains from 8 p.m. Wednesday through noon Thursday "in the interest of safety."