Buses Replacing Trains On The Montauk Branch
The Long Island Railroad just sent out a press release via e-mail which should hit their site shortly. The press release announces that buses will be replacing trains on the Montauk Branch for two weekends due to the “Babylon Interlocking Project”. Here are the complete details:
Buses will replace trains along the Babylon and Montauk branches over the weekends of October 25-26 and November 1-2 so that MTA Long Island Rail Road can install new signals and switches at Babylon Interlocking.
Over the weekend of October 25-26 buses will replace trains between Babylon and Patchogue. Partial busing will be necessary between Patchogue and Speonk. On the second weekend, November 1-2, a partial busing plan will again be in effect.
“The track work is an important part of our plan to modernize the signal system with state of the art technology and add switching flexibility within the Babylon train yard,” said LIRR President Helena E. Williams.
Montauk customers should expect travel time delays of up to 63 minutes the first weekend and up to 46 minutes on the second weekend.
Customers are urged to pick up the special Montauk Branch timetables detailing schedule changes during the Babylon Interlocking work. They are available at Penn Station, Jamaica and stations along the Babylon and Montauk Branches. Here are the highlights:
EASTBOUND SERVICE CHANGES WEEKEND OCT. 25th – OCT. 26th :
• Trains will depart Penn Station 4 to 7 minutes earlier than their normal times, in order to make bus connections at Babylon. Travel time will increase by up to 63 minutes.
• All eastbound train service between Babylon and Patchogue will be replaced by buses and busing will replace some trains between Patchogue and Speonk from 12:01 AM on Saturday, October 25 until 1:30 AM on Monday, October 27, 2008 to allow workers to perform final testing and a cutover of new signals at Babylon Interlocking. During this time, grade crossings at New Highway in Farmingdale and Railroad Ave. in Sayville will be replaced.
• Customers traveling to Bay Shore through Patchogue will board buses at Babylon for their stations.
• Customers traveling to Bellport, Mastic-Shirley and Speonk will have either train or bus service depending on the time of day.
• Customers traveling to Bellport through Montauk will have bus service between Babylon and Patchogue where they will board trains for service to these stations.
WESTBOUND SERVICE CHANGES WEEKEND OCT. 25th – OCT. 26th:
• Buses are scheduled up to 21 minutes later than normal service. Customers will experience up to 60 minutes additional travel time.
• Customers departing from stations Patchogue through Bay Shore will board buses at their stations to Babylon for transfer to train service.
• Customers departing from Speonk, Mastic-Shirley and Bellport will be served by buses from those stations to Babylon.
• Customers departing from stations Montauk through Bellport will board trains at their stations for service to Patchogue. There they will board buses bound for Babylon and transfer at Babylon to trains for service to western terminals.
On the second weekend of work, two main tracks between Babylon and Sayville will be out of service from 12:01 AM Saturday, November 1 until 11:59 PM on Sunday, November 2, 2008. Buses will replace some trains and others will operate on revised schedules. During this time, workers will install a new switch and surface other switches at Babylon Interlocking. In addition, grade crossing renewal work at Railroad Ave. in Sayville will be completed.
EASTBOUND SERVICE ON NOV. 1st – NOV. 2nd
• Buses replace six eastbound trains on Saturday and five on Sunday.
• Customers will have bus service from Babylon to stations Bay Shore through Speonk. This service operates up to 36 minutes later than regular train time and results in up to 18 minutes longer travel time.
WESTBOUND SERVICE ON NOV.1st – NOV. 2nd
• Buses replace six westbound trains on Saturday and five on Sunday.
• Customers from Speonk through Bay Shore will board buses at their stations for travel to Babylon where they will board trains. These customers will experience up to 46 minutes increased travel time.
For additional travel information, customers can contact the LIRR’s 24-hour Travel Information Center in Suffolk County at 631-231-LIRR, in Nassau County at 516-822-LIRR or in New York City at 718-217-LIRR. The Travel Information Center’s TDD telephone number for the hearing impaired is 718-558-3022. Customers can also consult the LIRR’s website at www.mta.info.
Don’t forget to pick up the special timetables related to this project. I will make sure to alert friends of mine who depend on the Montauk Branch.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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