New Schedules Go Into Effect Monday, November 11

The November schedule change is right around the corner as new schedules will be taking effect this Monday, November 11, 2013.  There are usually quite a few quick schedule changes in the fall because there are so many things going on across the system this time of year.  This schedule change also brings with it a couple service enhancements that were announced in the summer.

First off, a new train is coming to the Mainline, departing Penn Station at 4:09pm and stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Westbury, Hicksville, Bethpage, and Farmingdale, terminating there.  This train's latest possible Brooklyn connection still leaves at 3:56pm, so this train is still technically an "off-peak" train.  This makes it the latest possible off-peak train out of New York Penn.  Here's an interesting tidbit, this train which leaves at 4:09pm is an off-peak train, however, the winter version of the Cannonball, train 2710, leaves New York Penn at 4:06pm on Fridays.  However, since this train doesn't stop at Jamaica, this train doesn't have a Brooklyn connection, therefore it is considered a peak-hour train. So sitting at the departure board in NYP we see the 4:03pm train to Babylon be an off-peak train, then the 4:06pm train to Montauk be a peak train, then the 4:09pm train to Farmingdale be an off-peak train again, before the 4:15pm train to Long Beach which is again a peak train.  It goes back and forth, but hopefully there won't be all that much confusion!

There is also an additional train that will originate at Farmingdale at the tail end of the evening rush and run back westbound to Penn Station.  The train will originate there at 7:00pm and make just a couple quick stops at Bethpage, Hicksville, Mineola, and Jamaica before making Woodside and Penn Station.

Also on the Mainline, a Hicksville stop has been added to train 2064, the 5:01pm train from New York to Ronkonkoma.  This allows for some more intra-island traffic to use this train, as passengers from stations New Hyde Park through Westbury can take the 4:54pm slowcal to Farmingdale and transfer at Hicksville for train service to stations Wyandanch-east.

A rush hour cleanup train along the Mainline has been added to depart New York at 8:22pm, stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, New Hyde Park, then all local stops to Hicksville.  This train takes some of the stress off other trains, particularly the 8:42pm New York departure, which not only has to carry traffic to all of the Mainline stops to Huntington, but also all sorts of connecting traffic to Port Jefferson.

And perhaps one of the biggest restorations coming with this schedule change is weekend half-hourly service to Port Washington has been restored!  Trains stop at all stations every 30 minutes during the day on weekends beginning November 16th.  They didn't seem to carry over that strange stopping pattern they use on midday weekdays, so every station along the branch benefits. 

Weekend service to Greenport has also been extended through Thanksgiving.

Off-peak midday schedules on the Hempstead and Far Rockaway branches have also been flipped back to their regular half hours.  In September, they swapped times at Altantic Terminal to accommodate single-tracking on the Hemsptead Branch for tie replacement work.  I don't understand why they don't just leave the Hemsptead and Far Rockaway branch schedules this way that so they can singe track either branch at any time without having to change anything up.

Over the last year and a half or so, the LIRR has slowly been adding back many of the trains they cut away from the schedules during those big September 2010 service cuts.  In the process, they've also added a bunch of brand new trains, like the one's we see above.  It's all good steps in the right direction.  Hopefully they keep up with the service improvements!

The new schedules are available online or in print at Penn Station, Atlantic Terminal, Jamaica, or a station near you.