A Look at What the Far Rockaway Branch Timetable Could Look Like

This post was published in 2014 and was a discussion on a series of concept timetables for East Side Access developed by The LIRR Today.  The LIRR published a proposed service plan and draft timetables in 2022.  Read about the proposed East Side Access service plan here. 

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In today's post, we are going to move to the west a bit and take a look at what the Far Rockaway Branch timetable could look like following the completion of East Side Access. The Far Rockaway Branch is also fairly short branch (only 5 miles long), and fairly low-speed branch, but ridership has been growing. It sees about 5,000 riders less than the Long Beach Branch, and about two thirds of the branch's ridership travels on peak direction trains.  Today's current Far Rockaway Branch schedule, like the Long Beach Branch schedule can appear somewhat random.

Included in the linked .pdf file below is sample weekday and weekend Far Rockaway Branch  timetables that include service to Grand Central Terminal.  Peak, off-peak, reverse-peak, and special/event trains are all included.

The timetables only show revenue trains, not equipment or deadhead moves.  I have planned out each deadhead move, equipment rotation, etc., as I was doing this project, and I have most of those moves handwritten down on paper, but I have yet to insert all of them into the actual excel timetables.  Nonetheless, I tried whenever possible to minimize the amount of deadheading, since it is essentially wasted crew and equipment hours, but in some cases, it was unavoidable.

Just like the other timetable posts, here are some "Key Assumptions" and "Service Guidelines" which I built the timetables on:

Key Assumptions

• The current infrastructure on the branch will remain the same or similar to what it is now.

Service Guidelines

• During peak hours, train service will operate on a "clockface schedule" with departures to/from Far Rockaway every 20 minutes, making stops east of Valley Stream.  Of these three trains per hour, the first operates to/from Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn, the second to New York Penn Station, and the third is a flyer that operates to either Grand Central or Penn Station.  One additional train per hour will originate at Valley Stream and will make stops west of Valley Stream to either New York Penn or Grand Central.  In addition to these trains and the Flyers, select Long Beach Branch trains will make one or two additional stops at Locust Manor/Laurelton/Rosedale to provide more options for residents using those stations.
• During the off-peak hours, service is provided approximately every hour to and from Atlantic Terminal.
• During the weekday reverse-peak period, additional trains are run in the reverse-peak direction from Grand Central to provide service every half hour during reverse-peak times (these trains turn off of other peak hour trains).
• On weekends, train service is increased during the busiest travel periods (approximately 9:15am-11:20am in the westbound direction and 4:40pm-6:40pm in the eastbound direction).  During these periods, train service operates twice an hour with one train to Brooklyn and one train to Grand Central.  These trains are extensions of shuttle trains that operate West of Jamaica only during the day.

Link to Far Rockaway Branch Timetable

Much like the Long Beach Branch, peak hour service on the Far Rockaway Branch is set up in a way that allows passengers on the branch to get to all the different terminals throughout the rush hour (instead of only certain terminals at certain times).  The move to a clockface schedule (meaning all of the trains depart at the same times each hour, i.e. westbound trains to Penn Station depart at :45 past the hour) will hopefully reduce confusion and bunching of the trains.  Decent reverse peak service is maintained along the branch thanks to a terminal that isn't restricted thanks to it not having to deal with an uncomfortably long stretch of single track leading into its final terminal, but reverse peak service will also be moved to a clockface schedule to increase usability.

The current schedule also eliminates all but one equipment move along the branch.  Of the three trains that arrive at Far Rockaway per hour, two of them return to western terminals, and one remains.  Therefore, over the course of a rush hour, four trains will be left over at Far Rockaway.  One of them (train Y2835, the equipment turn off of 2834) will return to Grand Central, while the remaining three will occupy the two tracks in Far Rockaway Yard and one of the station tracks.  In the morning, the reverse happens, and on weekends, the three additional trains in each direction start/finish with the equipment in the yard.

20-minute headways during peak hours will be able to meet current ridership demands along the branch and hopefully allow for additional ridership expansion.  In the off-peak times, hourly service will be maintained, just as it is today.

During times on the weekend when travel is usually heavier, service has been expanded to include some additional trains into/out of Grand Central.  These trains will allow for some direct travel from Far Rockaway Branch stations to Grand Central at the busiest travel times of the day.

Next, allow me to take a paragraph or two to explain why there are still trains going to Brooklyn (this, after the LIRR seems to want to sever the Atlantic Branch altogether).  My idea is that you can continue to have trains that operate directly from eastern Long Island through to Atlantic Terminal, then supplement those trains with service that operates between Jamaica and Atlantic Terminal to produce whatever frequency is desired.  If you're traveling between Brooklyn and Jamaica, this will be nothing different than what the LIRR is proposing, since they will still be able to provide service every 7.5 or 10 minutes during the day, it's just some of the trains will be turning at Jamaica while others will continue out to Long Island. 

And all of this can still go along with the LIRR's plan to decongest Jamaica with rearranging tracks as part of the Jamaica Capacity Improvement project.  I will explain this further in the post about the Hempstead Branch timetable, but service can continue to operate form the Far Rockaway Branch through Jamaica to Brooklyn by either using platform C (the middle platform at Jamaica, which will still retain its connections with the Atlantic Branch), or by constructing a new connection from the Atlantic Branch up to track 11 at Jamaica, which would allow it to use the new platform F and those connections to the Atlantic Branch.

I have planned the wait times and connections at Jamaica for Far Rockaway Branch trains to be able to accommodate either of those plans (since they will presumably require an up-and-over transfer of some sort).

With a clockface schedule, there aren't too many complexities as to how trains are run, so there's not all that much more to talk about.  I think this setup should suit the needs of Far Rockaway Branch riders, as well as provide some room for additional ridership expansion along the branch.

As always, you very welcome to leave comments, thoughts, suggestions, corrections, etc.  You can leave a comment by accessing the comment form below (by signing in with a username or just leaving your name and e-mail), or e-mail me at mail@thelirrtoday.com.  Your feedback is appreciated. 

View an index of all of the other sample timetables, the posts about those timetables, and revision history, right here.