Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Does the LIRR really run 24/7?

The LIRR is often referred to as the only mainline commuter railroad in the United States that operates "24/7", but does the LIRR really operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?  Like a lot of things, the answer to that question depends a lot on how you define it and who you ask.

Riding the 2:00a "drunk train" home to LI is an experience,
to say the least... (Photo: @peopleofpennstation)
While I'll preface this by saying that the LIRR has significantly better overnight service than most of its peer systems in the US (many of which end service much earlier or have no off-peak service at all), service is by no means continuous and consistent over the course of the night.  Generally, LIRR's normal off-peak service patterns end at midnight.  From about midnight to about 1:45a, the railroad runs a last train or two on all branches following more or less the same schedule seven days a week (so it doesn't matter if a train crew operating across midnight begins their shift on a weekday and finishes on a weekend, or vice-versa).  At about 2:00a, after the "drunk train", service more or less stops.  There are large gaps in overnight service until pre-peak and rush hour service starts between 4:30a and 6:00a, depending on the branch.  This is similar to how most other railroads operate, ending service between 1:00a and 2:00a and starting again between 5:00a and 6:00a—the exception on the LIRR is that some branches get a bonus train around 3:00a to slightly reduce that otherwise large gap.

At least one train operating at all times

If you define a "24/7" operation as a system that has at least one train in passenger service every minute of the day, then LIRR does check that box.  The figure below shows the total number of trains scheduled to be in revenue service, under normal/pre-pandemic weekend schedules.  The fewest number of trains LIRR is operating at any given time is 4, from about 2:56a until 3:09a.  There is about a two hour period over the course of the night where the railroad is running 10 or fewer trains.


But if you look closely at the graph, specifically the Metro-North line, you'd see that the LIRR's sibling to the north never quite reaches 0 passenger trains in motion, either.  Metro-North does not purport to be a 24/7 operation, and with their larger gap in overnight departures from NY-Grand Central, the terminal does close to passengers overnight from 2:00a to 5:30a.

But, under the normal weekday schedule, one of the last trains leaving NY-Grand Central just before 2:00a takes so long to finally get to New Haven, that by time it gets to the other end, it's time for the first inbound train to set off towards the city with the first batch of morning commuters.  In this schedule, the last outbound train arrives at 4:05a, and the first inbound train leaves New Haven at 4:05a...so Metro-North always has at least one train in revenue service.  Depending on how the schedule gets shuffled from year to year, those trains may overlap a bit more or be separated by a couple minutes, but generally Metro-North checks the box as well, yet people don't consider them a 24/7 railroad.

NJTransit does completely stop passenger service for a period overnight, but for just about 21 minutes (from 3:27a until 3:47a).

Facilities open overnight

One of the largest consequences of missing the "last train" out of NY-Grand Central or Hoboken is that the terminal facilities close to passengers overnight, so if you show up at 2:30a, you have to find someplace else to wait out the time until the facility opens back up again just prior to the first train.  That stinks, especially in the middle of winter or during bad weather.

It is true that if you show up at NY-Penn Station overnight, you will find it open for business (and with an interesting crowd).  The Amtrak concourse is open all night (AM66/AM67 depart in the dark of night, plus there are a couple early departures to Washington) as well as the LIRR portion, but NJT's fiefdom will be fenced off. The station facilities at NY-Penn Station and Jamaica are more or less open around the clock but the railroad operates from only one of its three western terminal hours during the overnight period.  The LIRR cut overnight service to/from Brooklyn as part of the 2010 service cuts (truncating all trains at Jamaica) and despite alternate terminal usage increasing pre-pandemic, it has not been restored, and riders have to schlep to New York to get home.

Any of the railroad's outlying stations don't have any sort of access control and are open to the public at any hour of the day, but the same goes for Metro-North and NJTransit.

Gap in overnight service

Another important factor is the largest gap between trains overnight...in other words, the longest period of time you might have to wait for a train after just missing one.  If you have to stand around for several hours, you can't really say service is being provided 24/7.

The tables below show the largest gap between trains during the overnight hours, in minutes.  On average, the gap between overnight trains departing or arriving New York is 4 hours, 20 minutes on weeknights, and 5 hours, 33 minutes on weekend nights.  While many stations have shorter gaps (particularly in electric territory, there are very few stations that have overnight service resembling anywhere close to decent.  Just 22 stations have an overnight gap in service of less than 2 hours on weeknights (and one of them is Hillside...) and there are only 5 stations that have an overnight gap in service of less than 2 hours on weekend nights.

The shortest gap in overnight service on NJTransit—which does not purport to be a 24/7 railroad—is about 175 minutes overnight between the last train and the fist train to Trenton under normal service.  If you look at the gaps in overnight service, a large number of stations have gaps in overnight service markedly longer than NJT's overnight gap (including pretty much every LIRR station in diesel territory, plus some more).

But even laying aside the comparison to NJTransit, if you compare the gap between overnight trains against the LIRR's own Maximum Vehicle Headway guidelines from their Title VI Service Standards, the railroad fails to meet the guidelines at every single station...  The railroad categorizes stations into one of four levels based on ridership.  According to the standards, level 1 and level 2 stations should have off-peak trains every 60 minutes or better, level 3 stations should have off-peak trains every 90 minutes or better, and level 4 stations should have off-peak trains every 120 minutes or better.

In the table below, figures in red text are gaps in service that exceed the LIRR's own MVH guidelines.  Figures in bold have gaps in service that exceed NJT's overnight gap.

StationService
Level		Last train
leaves NYK		E/B
Wkdy		E/B
Wknd		W/B
Wkdy		W/B
Wknd		Overall
NY-Penn Station13:18 am96566488Fails to meet
Woodside13:18 am966164103Fails to meet
Forest Hills2*1:04 am283140189125Worse than NJT
Kew Gardens31:04 am283140189125Worse than NJT
Brklyn-Atlantic Term11:49 am203273188249Worse than NJT
Nostrand Avenue31:49 am203273188249Worse than NJT
East New York31:49 am203273188249Worse than NJT
Long Island City49:36 am1318144012921440Worse than NJT
Hunterspoint Avenue29:28 am1269144012591440Worse than NJT
Jamaica13:15 am99567688Fails to meet
Boland's Landing411:45 pm36214403991440Worse than NJT
Locust Manor33:15 am116151121125Fails to meet
Laurelton33:15 am116151121125Fails to meet
Rosedale23:15 am116151121125Fails to meet
Valley Stream13:15 am11612782125Fails to meet
Gibson33:15 am116127121187Worse than NJT
Hewlett2*3:15 am116127121187Worse than NJT
Woodmere33:15 am116127121187Worse than NJT
Cedarhurst33:15 am116127121187Worse than NJT
Lawrence43:15 am116127121187Worse than NJT
Inwood43:15 am116127121187Worse than NJT
Far Rockaway43:15 am116127121187Worse than NJT
Lynbrook22:59 am11586111166Fails to meet
Centre Avenue3*2:59 am14786219212Worse than NJT
East Rockaway32:59 am14786219212Worse than NJT
Oceanside22:59 am14786219212Worse than NJT
Island Park2*2:59 am14786219212Worse than NJT
Long Beach22:59 am14786219212Worse than NJT
St. Albans411:08 pm541498381480Worse than NJT
Westwood412:14 am333421352480Worse than NJT
Malverne412:14 am333421352480Worse than NJT
Lakeview412:14 am333421352480Worse than NJT
Hempstead Gardens412:14 am333421352480Worse than NJT
West Hempstead412:14 am333421352480Worse than NJT
Rockville Centre13:10 am104135111156Fails to meet
Baldwin13:10 am104135111156Fails to meet
Freeport1*3:10 am10413586156Fails to meet
Merrick13:10 am104135111156Fails to meet
Bellmore13:10 am104135111156Fails to meet
Wantagh1*3:10 am10413586156Fails to meet
Seaford23:10 am104135111156Fails to meet
Massapequa23:10 am104135111156Fails to meet
Massapequa Park23:10 am104135111156Fails to meet
Amityville23:10 am10413586156Fails to meet
Copiague23:10 am104135111156Fails to meet
Lindenhurst23:10 am104135111156Fails to meet
Babylon13:10 am10413586156Fails to meet
Bay Shore312:39 am347388156271Worse than NJT
Islip312:39 am347388156271Worse than NJT
Great River412:39 am347388302271Worse than NJT
Oakdale412:39 am347388156271Worse than NJT
Sayville312:39 am347388156271Worse than NJT
Patchogue312:39 am347388156271Worse than NJT
Bellport412:39 am587388302271Worse than NJT
Mastic-Shirley412:39 am428388156271Worse than NJT
Speonk412:39 am428388156271Worse than NJT
WesthamptonX12:39 am428418164681Worse than NJT
Hampton BaysX12:39 am428418164681Worse than NJT
SouthamptonX12:39 am428418164681Worse than NJT
BridgehamptonX12:39 am428418266681Worse than NJT
East HamptonX12:39 am428418266681Worse than NJT
AmagansettX12:39 am428418266681Worse than NJT
MontaukX12:39 am428418266681Worse than NJT
Hillside Facility33:15 am9980117131Fails to meet
Hollis42:59 am239136117156Worse than NJT
Queens Village32:59 am147136117156Fails to meet
Belmont Park4No service1440144014401440Worse than NJT
Floral Park22:59 am115136117156Fails to meet
Bellerose32:59 am147136117156Fails to meet
Stewart Manor32:59 am147136117156Fails to meet
GC-Nassau Boulevard32:59 am147136117156Fails to meet
Garden City32:59 am147136117156Fails to meet
GC-Country Life Press42:59 am147136117156Fails to meet
Hempstead22:59 am147136117156Fails to meet
New Hyde Park23:07 am107182123232Worse than NJT
GC-Merillon Avenue2*3:07 am107182123259Worse than NJT
Mineola13:15 am99102107105Fails to meet
Carle Place3*3:07 am107182123232Worse than NJT
Westbury23:07 am107182123105Worse than NJT
Hicksville13:15 am9910210799Fails to meet
Syosset13:07 am107182123105Worse than NJT
Cold Spring Harbor23:07 am107182123105Worse than NJT
Huntington13:07 am107182123105Worse than NJT
Greenlawn312:14 am333335287349Worse than NJT
Northport212:14 am333335287349Worse than NJT
Kings Park312:14 am333335287349Worse than NJT
Smithtown412:14 am333335287349Worse than NJT
St. James412:14 am333335287349Worse than NJT
Stony Brook212:14 am333335287349Worse than NJT
Port Jefferson312:14 am333335287349Worse than NJT
East Williston41:11 am386418358480Worse than NJT
Albertson41:11 am386418358480Worse than NJT
Roslyn3*1:11 am386418358480Worse than NJT
Greenvale41:11 am386418358480Worse than NJT
Glen Head41:11 am386418358480Worse than NJT
Sea Cliff41:11 am386418358480Worse than NJT
Glen Street41:11 am386418358480Worse than NJT
Glen Cove41:11 am386418358480Worse than NJT
Locust Valley41:11 am386418358480Worse than NJT
Oyster Bay41:11 am386418358480Worse than NJT
Bethpage21:11 am124102147121Fails to meet
Farmingdale21:11 am124102147121Fails to meet
Pinelawn43:14 pm10208401109900Worse than NJT
Wyandanch21:11 am124102147121Fails to meet
Deer Park11:11 am124102147121Fails to meet
Brentwood21:11 am124102147121Fails to meet
Central Islip21:11 am124102147121Fails to meet
Ronkonkoma11:11 am124102147121Fails to meet
Medford45:41 pm72211404631140Worse than NJT
Yaphank45:41 pm72211404631140Worse than NJT
RiverheadX5:41 pm72211404631140Worse than NJT
MattituckX5:41 pm72211404631140Worse than NJT
SoutholdX5:41 pm72211404631140Worse than NJT
GreenportX5:41 pm72211404631140Worse than NJT
Mets-Willets PointNNo service1440144014401440Worse than NJT
Flushing-Main Street23:18 am13113486120Fails to meet
Murray Hill33:18 am13113486120Fails to meet
Broadway23:18 am13113486120Fails to meet
Auburndale23:18 am13113486120Fails to meet
Bayside13:18 am13113486120Fails to meet
Douglaston23:18 am13113486120Fails to meet
Little Neck23:18 am13113486120Fails to meet
Great Neck13:18 am13113486120Fails to meet
Manhasset23:18 am13113486120Fails to meet
Plandome33:18 am13113486120Fails to meet
Port Washington13:18 am13113486120Fails to meet

All in all:
  • 126 out of 126 stations do not meet the LIRR's own maximum vehicle headway guidelines during the overnight period (100%)
  • 76 out of 126 stations have an overnight gap in service longer than the shortest gap between overnight trains on NJTransit (60%)

Whether or not you think the LIRR operates 24/7 depends a lot on where you live.  Chances are, if you live in diesel territory or along a branch with one of these large gaps in overnight service, you probably don't think the railroad operates 24/7.  As someone who lived in diesel territory for a number of years (and always had to keep a careful eye on my watch to make sure we did not miss the 12:39a train home), the service is just not 24/7 for large groups of people.

Speaking generally, if 60% of stations have a gap in service longer than non-24/7 NJT, then I would more likely consider calling the LIRR a 24/7 system overbroad.

What would be "good" 24/7 service?

There's no denying that demand for service during the overnight hours is considerably less than a typical off-peak period.  Even the NYCT Subway dramatically ramps down overnight service (under normal circumstances, of course) to the point that there's trains only every 20 minutes on most lines.  Going out to the suburbs, the demand is even less during the overnight hours.  When it comes to overnight service, the more consistent, the better.  Generally speaking, the goal should probably be to maintain service at about the Maximum Vehicle Headway, or some appropriate multiple of that (maybe 1.5x, at most).

So, while the LIRR definitely provides overnight service that's markedly better than their peer systems, "overnight service" effectively amounts to one extra train around 3:00a or so in the morning to most electric branches, and that's about it.  Referring to it as a true 24/7 system is likely overbroad.
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