LIRR’s Z trains to make a comeback

Photo: MTA

This weekend, the LIRR’s “Z trains” will make a comeback. Due to signal work at DIVIDE interlocking in Hicksville, for the weekend of November 8th and 9th, the LIRR will be operating the dual-mode “z trains” between Ronkonkoma and New York, which detour via the South Shore by reversing-ends in both Bethpage and Babylon, making local stops to Farmingdale before Jamaica, Woodside, and New York. 

While the Z train isn’t the technical term used by the railroad, it’s the unofficial name given to this type of service disruption by railfans as it refers to the route taking a Z.

These types of moves are pretty uncommon since generally, diesel equipment isn’t seen too often on the electrified portion of the Main Line east of Bethpage, and even more so stopping there. They’ve done the Z trains before and generally while it’s a hour-plus added travel-time detour, it gets the job done pretty well.

For those of you who travel on the Port Jefferson Branch, service will run between New York and Mineola, and between Huntington and Port Jefferson. Westbury and Carle Place stations will not be served at all, and Hicksville, Syosset, and Cold Spring Harbor stations will get shuttle busses to both Huntington and Mineola. 

In the end, while this is extremely frustrating and inconvenient for most people who needs to travel between Ronkonkoma and New York, this is hands down the best option to get people to New York as quickly as possible without using equally inadequate shuttle busses. It’s also a rare opportunity for railfans like myself to see moves like this that don’t happen very often.

MTA will suspend 7 express service for a whole month

Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse with the (7) train disruptions, the MTA just announced a couple days ago that they will be suspending diamond <7> express service completely from October 27 which was yesterday until until November 21st. This comes as a huge letdown to Queens riders who rely on the (7) as a lifeline and specifically it's rush hour express service to get to work.

While true <7> service is already suspended already, as the line is only express between Mets-Willets Point and Junction Blvd and Junction Blvd and 61 St-Woodside, it's still a letdown to see the entire thing go completely for these outages in favor of more local service.

While all of this is unideal and will likely cause congestion and delays, in the end, when all is said and done, it will allow for track replacements that will provide huge reliability improvements along this busy line and will prepare the line for service over the next century.

MTA to sell Metrocard-themed cakes and other items!

I decided today I'd take a brief aside from thee semi-frequent posts to tell you about a little something I saw last night that I thought was quite interesting. So basically, as you probably know by now, the New York City subway's main payment card, known as the MetroCard has been announced for retirement on December 31st. And since then, the MTA has launched a "farewell campaign" to partner with a couple of food vendors and provide a couple of edition items to celebrate the end of it.

• Alidoro – La Tessera sandwich (“the card” in Italian): crispy chicken cutlet, sweet soppressata, fresh mozzarella, Calabrian chili vodka sauce and garlic pesto cream on a toasted semolina baguette. The sandwich will go on sale November 3, National Sandwich Day.

• Carvel – MetroCard Flying Saucer, free MetroCard Sprinkles with mention of the MetroCard and purchase of Scooped or Soft Serve ice cream, and custom cakes with edible MetroCard® and Cardvaark images.

• Golden Krust – With purchase of Golden Krust’s signature Jamaican-style patty, a multi-layered, flaky, golden pastry filled with perfectly seasoned beef, chicken, vegetable, or seafood fillings, customers will receive a free Jamaican coco bread, made from a Hawthorne family recipe dating back to 1949, is soft, buttery, and slightly sweet with real coconut milk.

• 
  Gong cha – “The M Tea A Drink:” Inspired by Gong cha’s signature Milk Foam Green Tea, this limited edition drink combines green tea, pearls, blue milk foam made with butterfly pea flower, and chocolate powder MTA logo, echoes the colors of the iconic MetroCard.

• Stretch Pizza (by Wylie Dufresne) – The Metro pizza: vodka sauce, fior di latte cheese, chicken cutlet, spicy Calabrian chili, garlic pesto cream and grated parm.

• Zabar’s – MetroCard and Cardvaark cookies.

I can tell you personally that when I'm next in the city I will definitely be trying the Carvel, Pizza, and the Zabar's cookies because those three look especially delicious!

This is a delicious way to say goodbye to the MetroCard! Thank you Metrocard, you've served us well! And enjoy your retirement!

Metro-North daytime round-trip being extended to Albany

Unexpectedly, Governor Hochul just announced yesterday that Metro-North will now begin running one round-trip between Grand Central and Albany with room to go in the future. This is something that I was actually thinking about the other day, not because of the service changes, but because I was genuinely wondering if this could happen. Amtrak also announced that they'd be reliving the 

They announced that the northbound train would depart Grand Central mid-morning and get you to Albany early-afternoon, and would depart Albany mid-afternoon and arrive into Grand Central just in time for evening events. 

I personally feel that this is one of those things that people are going to like so much that it will stay even through the end of the service changes- I mean it's not a bad idea. Cheaper fares, direct service from the East Side, what else could you ask for. These roundtrips will begin running sometime in I perceive to be early 2026.

I like to see that the MTA is thinking outside of the box to provide supplemental service with this one. Even though trackspace is limited on that corridor, Kathy Hochul thought back and has been trying her best to make it happen and that is very respectable. I feel like this is going to be pretty successful since the Empire Corridor, specifically that New York - Albany portion is one of the most successful Amtrak routes. I even have family that lives in Albany and regularly uses this service and this will reduce crowding for them which is a great thing.

While it will be interesting to see how ridership ultimately plays out, I feel like there is a future for this service. If the Metro-North properly tends to it and expands it when necessary, this service could easily catch-on and could provide as a cheaper alternative option to points north of Poughkeepsie. 

Slip 'n' Slide

Fall is one of the best times for rail travel in New York State. All across the state, you get beautiful views with spectacular fall foilage. As we now slowly begin to enter the height of Autumn, the many leaves on the trees will start to change colors. And while the fall foilage is beautiful, it's also causes a lot of problems for the railroads.

The phenomenon we must talk about is called "Slip-side" and its where leaves fall onto the tracks, get crushed by the trains wheels, creating a oily residue, formally known as pectin. Pectin is an enemy as it gums up the rails and therefore causes trains to slide forwards when trying to brake.

Flat spot on an M7 wheel (Photo: MTA)

As you can probably tell, these flatspots on the wheels are a MAJOR headache for everyone involved. They cause maintenance headaches as the wheels often need to be trued (which means reshaped) and they also cause a very loud banging noise for customers that is extremely annoying. 

During leaf season, the LIRR keep a very sharp lookout for these slip-side conditions, and whenever they are reported, engineers are instructed to enter stations at a restricted speed to minimize the risk of overshooting stations. While this helps to minimize the risk, it also lowers trains punctuality therefore causing additional headaches once those trains leave the leafy suburbs and enter the busy Main Line.

To provide defense against Slip-slide, many railroads have adopted their own trains known as "laser trains" to patrol and destroy leaves on the tracks. NJTransit, for example, has their own laser train known as "AquaTrack" which patrols the system for leaves. 

Metro-North's "laser train"

Both the LIRR and MNR employ the use of "laser trains" which use very powerful lasers to vaporize the leafy residue on the tracks. While I haven't been lucky enough to catch it myself, I've seen it on the radar mainly during school hours, or during the late night when they can sneak it out to the various branches so it can do it's job. 

The LIRR actually made a very quick 45 second video recently which they posted all over their socials showing the technology, and I'll actually include it if your interested, click here.

In conclusion, while the changing of colors produce excellent fall foilage across New York state, they also have their implications, and in the case of commuter rail, can be a huge headache to deal with. This is a problem that as long as we have trees in New York State (which I have my doubts will ever change), we'll have to deal with but as technology evolves and we have better technology like lasers, it'll only get easier to deal with.

LIRR & MNR Columbus Day Service 2025

Today is Columbus Day in the United States and to celebrate both the LIRR and MNR will be running a full, normal weekday schedule with the usual suite of rush hour trains. And unlike on Presidents Day where the LIRR screws anyone who doesn’t give a hoot about presidents, Columbus Day is just an ordinary day to the MTA.

However, you should expect possible (but not probable) cancellations tomorrow morning during the morning rush hour due to the storm and due be careful if your unlucky enough to have to travel in!

In addition, since it’s a normal morning the two railroads will be running regular fares with peak fares in affect during the morning and afternoon periods.

For those of you, like me that have off, enjoy your day off! 

The Future of the MTA - And my thoughts on it

The next couple of decades for the MTA are probably going to be some of the most promising for the system, with a bunch of very fulfilling projects on the horizon. There's also another round of fleet replacements, specifically for the railroads but also on NYC transit

I thought it would be interesting to round-up all these ideas from the 20-year needs assessment and review them while also giving my opinions where necessary.

I've divided this article into multiple parts based off where these projects fall. We'll start with rolling stock, then switch to extensions/capacity improvements, while finishing off with stations.

Rolling Stock:

Currently, the future is very bright for rolling stock, has multiple rolling stock programs have been announced and are coming soon. 

The New Locomotives

While it will be sad to say our final goodbyes to the P32/P42 and DE/DM30AC fleets, both Metro-North and the LIRR (specifically) are in need of new locomotive fleets. It took me a bit to get warmed up to the idea of the Chargers, given that the LIRR livery is so strong.

While the order for the chargers will hopefully fix the reliability issues that the LIRR's current struggling diesel fleet suffers from, unless the LIRR options the full 66, then it won't help much with the confined feet. They only ordered 44. One of the biggest problems with the current LIRR diesel fleet is it's size. The small fleet has hindered growth in diesel territory for years.

Unless the LIRR plans to actually commence electrification to Port Jefferson in the next 4 or so years, than the LIRR should at minimal order 56 of these new locomotives. Look, I'm telling you that Long Island won't wash into the Atlantic Ocean if they end up having a couple extra locomotives lying around, as they can have various uses. Firstoff, with the influx of severe weather storms associated with climate change, storms that have the potential to wipe out entire branches' power can become all that more common When Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012, they barley had enough resources to provide bi-hourly diesel service to/from Long Beach. If something more severe was to happen, such as a storm wiping out the Main Line (god forbid), then the LIRR would be screwed. Not to mention, if they are having a slower summer, they can always lease a couple!

The M9As

The Alstom M9As, recently annouced in June, will finally replace the 40 year old and aging Budd M3s. While it will be sad to have to say the final goodbyes to the M3s, which have long-served the railroad, this date is long overdue and the M9A's will provide even more lavish amenities than those found on the M9s. They'll also provide additional capacity during all times, especially during peak periods. My hope is that they'll use them to their advantage to give better Brooklyn service and provide more service on all electrified-branches. The M9As will follow a design more similar to that of the M7s, at least interior-wise. Surprisingly, Bombardier is fulfilling the contract.

The New Coaches

The LIRR is also looking at ordering brand new Alstom multilevels to supplement the beloved C3s. While the order hasn't formally been announced, I know for a fact that the LIRR is definitely looking into it.

Since I found about it back in April, to a lot of your surprise, given my fondness for the C3s and C3s only, I've been very ecstatic about the idea. The LIRR is not only short on locomotives, but they are also short on coaches. All more locomotives will do will allow them to split consists, it won't actually give any extra capacity. So, on Summer Fridays, the fleet will still be as constrained. With more coaches to supplement the C3s, they can do so much to improve service in diesel territory, something many desperately want to see. 

While the idea of the Alstom multilevels racing by towns on my home line is rather far-fetched, I look forward to seeing what comes of it. Little is currently known, but the LIRR should look to order them in the next come of years so they'll have them when the M9A's enter service. 

While it's sad to see that the clock is ticking and time is limited on my favorite coaches, they still have another 10-15 years of life left in them, and the multilevels would provide much-needed capacity upgrades. Guys, this could be huge for diesel territory!

New Subway Cars

With all this railroad stuff, you may think that's all the MTA's rolling stock department has in store, but no, you'd actually be wrong as New York City Transit is also looking to get rolling stock of their own, the R262s. 

The R262s are proposed to replace the aging R62 and R62A cars, and the option order would provide additional capacity. They'll be used on the 1, 3, and 6 lines, and will support CBTC on the Lexington Avenue Line, something that will be huge.

Funding was included in the 2025-2029 capital program, and it's likely that they'll be ordering them in the next year or so.

The Work Locomotives

Along with the coaches, the LIRR is also looking at ordering work locomotives to replace the aging MP15ACs that currently roam the railroad. I personally along with the coaches absolutely LOVE the paint job that they gave these concepts and I'm looking forward to seeing the order for these new locomotives.

Extensions/Capacity Improvements:

Danbury-Southeast Rail Line (MNR)

While not confirmed, by any means, there's a possibility for restoring the rail connection between Danbury and Southeast on Metro-North. It would require a new Danbury station, along with new stations in Farrington Park and Brewster. While it's a cool idea to see east-west transportation, I personally don't know if this would have the highest ridership and I definitely feel that there are better things for them to put this money toward that are more worth it, like additional funding for Penn Station Access incase the project runs late and overbudget. The nice thing would be that it would connect all the lines without the need to go all the way to Manhattan.

Harlem Line Capacity Improvements (MNR)

The MTA is also looking at allocating funding for capacity improvements on the Harlem Line. The project would consist of the construction of a new third track between Crestwood and North White Plains, in addition to signal investments and investments at the yard in Brewster. The goal would be to provide more service during peak periods and to allow for future growth along this growing segment of track allowing for crowding, and more operational flexibility. While it's always great to see more train service, I'd say that the Harlem Line (especially North White Plains, White Plains, Hartsdale, and Scarsdale) already gets exceptional train service in both directions, and while this could be a future project, I feel like there's better places to put the funding, to improve service in another places where it's needed most.

Hudson Line to Penn Station

The Hudson Line to Penn Station project, formally known as "Penn Station Access" is definitely one of the biggest upcoming rail projects in NYC, if not in the country, and this will involve constructing 4 new stations in the Bronx, along with access to Penn Station on Metro-North's New Haven and Harlem Lines. This, coupled with Harlem Line Capacity Improvements, will bring better headways and more robust service opportunties to the entire railroad. My hope is that the Hudson Line will come in the future to

(3) train to Flatlands

This proposal proposes extending the 3 train two stations south at Linden Blvd and Flatlands Avenue. While it is an interesting idea, and it would provide more service opportunties to a transit desert, I feel like there are better things the MTA can do with this money, and the price for it is ridiculous for something of that scale. 

Port Jefferson Branch Capacity Improvements

This project includes electrifying and double tracking the entire Port Jefferson Branch. I think this definitely be a big project, but one that would be worthwhile and this is one that has been requested for decades. Of the LIRR lines in diesel territory, this one easily makes the most sense since not only is there already a large yard there, but, there's also the most demand for it. I also believe it has the most potential with Stony Brook university and I feel like ridership would sink well on it. 

Port Jervis Line Capacity Improvements

Ahh, the Port Jervis Line. The Metro-North line that receives some of the worst headways in the Metro-North system, with some of the worst gaps coming close to 8 hours. This would install multiple sidings on the line, allowing for more trains to be ran, specifically in the reverse-peak direction, which would completely eradicate those atrociously-long gaps we currently see today. On a line like the Port Jervis line where service is limited, adding sidings could improve service significantly. 

Speonk-Montauk Capacity Improvements

Let's now talk about the project that affects my own line, the Montauk Branch. This project involves some signalling work and infrastructure upgrades out on the South Fork. It would involve creating new station platforms, and hopefully, reopening interlockings as well. I personally think a project like this would be worthwhile, but even more so if they would also build new stations too. Unfortunatnely, this project didn't score well, and while I believe it would be HUGE in minimizing the MASSIVE delays we face on summer weekends due to late and packed trains, this project doesn't seam like one thats going anywhere anytime soon. 

Extension of (W) line to Red Hook

This proposal proposes extended the W train to Red Hook. The W train is currently a somewhat unimportant line, as it basically supplements the N train with a couple additional local stops. Extending the W to Red Hook would help reduce crowding on other nearby lines such as the (4) (5) (6) Lexington Avenue Lines. While it didn't score too well, it would mean a lot for communities in Brooklyn like Red Hook and would increase frequencies.

Stations:

In addition to these possible extensions, the MTA also listed a couple of possible new stations.

10th Avenue on the (7)

This proposal consists of building a new station between Times Square and 34 St-Hudson Yards on the Flushing Line. In the original plan for the extension, they had planned to build this station but due to budget constraints, it was dropped from the project. The goal would be to provide another station in the growing area of Hells Kitchen/Hudson Yards. 

Now, in my opinion, I'm pretty skeptical about this as I doubt it'll help too many people and will instead add a additional minute or two to people commuting to 34 St-Hudson Yards and considering the high construction cost, I just don't think it's worth it. There's better ways for MTA to spend their limited money.

I feel like if they had actually gone through and constructed this when the 34 St-Hudson Yards extension was being built in the first place, then it would've been good, but now it would just be disruptive for a relatively low amount of ridership.

Sunnyside Station

Probably one of the most valuable proposals on this list, the MTA is hoping to build a new station in Sunnyside on the LIRR. The new station would also one-day essentially serve as a transit hub connecting the LIRR to Metro-North. I am a big proponent in this project since it would provide an option for people living out on Long Island to get to Sunnyside, a growing area in Queens, while seamlessly providing LIRR employees an easier way to get to the yard, all the while providing more options for people in Sunnyside. 

Elmhurst Station

And now lets finish off with the long-debated Elmhurst Station. Once a station on the LIRR's very own Port Washington Branch, this station closed many moons ago due to low ridership. However, now that the area has grown and nearby lines such as the Flushing and Queens Blvd lines face overcrowding, a new Elmhurst station could be huge for these areas. While it didn't score too well specifically due to it causing time losses for customers elsewhere and due to low ridership concerns. 

I personally believe that if they provided good service to the station that it could takeoff. The problem with many LIRR stations that are in New York City subway network (apart from the city terminals and Woodside) is that they have limited service. Many stations in eastern Queens face headways as bad as hourly and when there's a subway nearby that has headways 10 times that, many will choose the cheaper and easier option. It's particularly important that they provide good service to Elmhurst station considering it would parallel the 7 train, which during rush hours (which would probably be the target time to reduce crowding), the 7 train gets some of the best headways in the system with headways of as soon as every two minutes. I also believe if they are going to build an Elmhurst station, that they should also look into a Corona station since it also faces a similar situation as Elmhurst does.

I will be discussing more about the idea for both of these stations and the potential advantages and drawbacks in a future post.

In conclusion, the future for the MTA is very bright. The fact that many of these projects will probably happen in the near future is a really beautiful thing and while New York transit has it's challenges, the star of the future of transit in the NYC Metropolitan Area is shining very bright.

Metro-North making schedule improvements to “supper express” trains from upper Hudson Valley into NYC

So in a press conference held a couple days ago, Metro-North announced that they’d be tinkering around with the times for the super express trains from the Upper Hudson Line into Grand Central. They’d be shaving time off of many of the super express trains from Poughkeepsie to Grand Fentral (specifically the ones during rush hours that run nonstop between New Hamburg, Beacon, and Harlem-125 St and Grand Central). These new schedule improvements, listed as it follows, will go into effect on Monday, October 6th.

• The 6:08am express from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central will arrive into Grand Central 5 minutes earlier.
• The 6:42am express from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central will now depart Poughkeepsie two minutes later, and will arrive into Grand Central 7 minutes earlier! 
• The 7:03am express from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central will now depart Poughkeepsie two minutes later, and will arrive into Grand Central five minutes earlier. 
• The 5:08pm express from Grand Central to Poughkeepsie will now depart Grand Central at 5:09pm, and will now shave off 7 minutes off the runtime. 
• The 5:30pm express from Grand Central to Poughkeepsie will arrive into Poughkeepsie 6 minutes earlier. 
• The 6:11pm express from Grand Central to Poughkeepsie will now depart Grand Central one minute later and will arrive into Poughkeepsie 7 minutes earlier.

I think this is a great thing. People that commute from the upper Hudson valley into Manhattan already have some of the longest commutes on the railroad, and by shaving even a couple minutes off their commute, that’s time they’ll be able to spend with their families, and overtime, that adds up. Metro-North already has a lot of fat in their schedules, specifically on the express portions, and it’s a really good thing to see them trim away some of that extra padding. 

They claimed that they used “specialized train simulation software and in-depth analyzes of GPS and signal data to find-tune the schedules to shave off up to 7 minutes off the schedule. They also said that improvements to signal infrastructure also helped to allow for speeds to be increased. Kathy Hochul also said that the new SC42DM’s that entered service last week also had something to do it it. 

While all of this is likely somewhat true, and the signal infrastructure probably helped a lot, I think the main culprit for slower speeds is really excessive schedule padding. I personally feel that schedule padding is especially unnecessary on express portions, since you can easily make up time by going slightly faster. 

I personally think that the LIRR should also look to adopt a similar mindset. They specifically pad a lot in the Hamptons, and while it’s necessary on some of the summer getaway trains, on many of the overnight trains it just isn’t necessary. Trains on the Ronkonkoma Branch also used to be advertised to be able to go from Ronkonkoma to New York in one hour, but now it takes up to 80 minutes! The one train that could almost do it in an hour (a super express from Ronkonkoma to Hicksville and New York) was eliminated. That train should be restored because it would help to reduce crowding on other trains! 

In the end, it’s good to see Metro-North cracking down on schedule padding, something they’ve been doing a good amount recently as they did it with some of those New Haven-GCT super express trains too. It’s definitely an improvement that can be made relatively easy, but now what it comes down to maintaining the schedule. Since leaving Grand Central, they now have 5, 6, or even 7 minutes less before they become marked late, they must make sure that the line is clear so they can get these trains out of the traffic and congestion in Grand Central and around Harlem-125 St and get them onto the racetrack which is the Hudson Line.

Metro-North Siemens Charger locomotives enter service on Hudson Line

Train 805 on the second day of service

Metro-North’s newest addition to the fleet- the Siemens “Charger” SC42DM locomotives, soon to come to the LIRR, have now entered service on Metro-North. These more modern, greener, tier three locomotives entered service on train 825 (the 11:35am service from from Grand Central to Poughkeepsie), returning back home on train 870 (the 2:48pm service from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central).

(Photo: Metropolitan Transit Authority)

The rollout, which came unexpected, came just in time for Climate week and was announced in a press conference Tuesday afternoon, along with the rollout came an announcement of a time reduction on Metro-North’s “super express” services during rush hours between Poughkeepsie to Grand Central. 

The new locomotives have been advertised to be more "cleaner and greener" while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions by a whopping 85 percent, while boasting about the 1,000 horsepower boost in the same boat. 

Siemens Charger Test Train 

The new locomotives are still being manufactured at the Siemens Mobility Plant in Sacramento, and the last of the 27 are expected to enter service in 2027. This is a sad reality for railfans such as myself, as this shows that the end for the favorited P32s is near. While its extremely sad to see these iconic locomotives fade into the sunset, these new locomotives will bring lots of coveted improvements to the table for Metro-North.

This marks the start of a new era for Metro-North, one in which consists of Siemens diesel trains and newer M9A's roaming the rails, replacing their former P32 and M3A counterparts. The new locomotives will be missed dearly by railfans, employees, and even some passengers alike, but the new locomotives will provide much more reliable service. 

In the end, the end is near for both the P32 and DE/DM30AC locomotives, and it's time to soak up every last bit of time you can get with them because the dawn of the new era for Metro-North and the LIRR diesel territory is here. 

LIRR unions delay strike as they request Trump's board

The looming potential strike by the LIRR that would have catastrophically haulted train service systemwide as soon as "Zero hour" on September 18th at 12:01am 

LIRR providing extra service to PGA tournament in Bethpage

The LIRR is actually providing quite a suite of extra trains for the PGA tournament in Bethpage next week. They are providing trains to/from Farmingdale to both Ronkonkoma and New York  before and after the event, and they are also staging a couple unscheduled extras to help bare the rest of the crowds.

The nice thing is with the way the Ronkonkoma Branch runs, they actually currently run a couple of equipment trains in the morning, in both directions, to deadhead equipment out to the yard in Ronkonkoma eastbound and to also deadhead a couple sets west to Hicksville and Westbury to represent local runs on the Main Line. 

The LIRR innovatively converted all of the eastbound equipment runs in the morning into revenue service, providing some very impressive headways into Farmingdale in the morning. The two westbound equipment runs also provide express service from Ronkonkoma (the busiest station on the line by far) to Farmingdale. This is very innovative. And, the best part is, since those two westbound runs originate on the Main Line, they won't affect peak hour passengers as those passengers wont get on until it gets to the Main Line.

Reverse-peak direction

• Train 1996, a 4:34am departure from Penn Station, stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, and Farmingdale, arriving at 5:30am.
• Train 2006, a 5:13am departure from Grand Central, stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, and Farmingdale, arriving at 6:06am.
• Train 1998, a 5:48am departure from Penn Station, stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, and Farmingdale, arriving at 6:46am.
• Train 2008, a 5:54am deaprture from Grand Central, stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, and Farmingdale, arriving at 6:50am
• Train 4906, a 6:36am departure from Penn Station, stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, and Farmingdale, arriving at 7:35am
• And here's an interesting one, train 2128 (currently a shuttle that deadheads to Farmingdale for whatever reason), a 6:37am departure from Atlantic Terminal stopping at at Nostrand Avenue, East New York, Jamaica, and Farmingdale. 
• Train 4908, a 7:15am departure from Penn Station, stopping at Wooside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, and Farmingdale.

Now, see a common theme here? All of these trains are actually scheduled deadhead equipment runs already, so essentially, the LIRR is running these for zero cost. 

Peak direction

During the peak direction, the LIRR doesn't directly add any service, and I don't blame them for this as the line is already pretty much at capacity at that time of the morning, and, by adding more service they'd be screwing the LIRR's most important market, westbound commuters.

• Train 2501, orginates at Ronkonkoma at 5:40am, runs express to Farmingdale stopping there at 6:09am, then runs to Westbury before resuming it's normal route making all local stops.
• Train 2103, originates in Ronkonkoma at 6:54am, stopping at Farmingdale at 7:19am (it orginates there), before resuming it's route making all local stops.

In the afternoon, the LIRR doesn't provide close to as a impressive lineup, but, in their defense, they also provide more service during the afternoon reverse-peak, and they do have some unscheduled extras that'll run. 

Reverse-peak direction

• Train 4955, a 4:57pm departure out of Farmingdale, making Jamaica, and Penn Station.

Peak direction

• The LIRR will add stops on the express trains, providing a very frequent service to points east on the Main Line. 

Weekend

On the weekend, the LIRR is only providing eastbound service in the morning to the event, (I find it supriisng that they aren't convering the very early westbound equipment moves to service but whatever) but my guess is that they'll run unscheduled extras on those days, too.

• Train 7934, a 4:15am departure out of Penn Station, stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, Bethpage, and Farmingdale, arriving at 5:13am.
• Train 7936, a 4:39am departure out of Penn Station, stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, and Farmingdale, arriving at 5:35am.
• Train 8008, a 5:30am departure out of Grand Central, stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, and Farmingdale, arriving at 6:28am.
• Train 8012, a 6:33am departure from Grand Central, stopping at Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, and Farmingdale, arriving at 7:32am.
• Train 8014, 8016, 8018, and 8020, 7:31, 8:33, 9:33, and 10:33 departures out of Grand Central, all stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, and Farmingdale, arriving at 8:29, 9:30, 10:30, and 11:30am respectively.

Now, we get the bad part, the LIRR strike is happening at what is probably the worst possible time, since, apparently they could go on strike as early as September 18, giving them only 5 days to restore service in time for the Tuesday morning rush hour/PGA tournament. 

In all, I think, for the most part, the LIRR mastered this plan, and as long as the strike doesn't put a giant fork in the plans, then this should work relatively well. I feel like the LIRR converting deadheads to service could be hopeful, since it shows their willing to do that. Possibly in the future they could actually convert these deadhead moves to revenue service, full time, which would be huge to provide even more reverse-peak service opportunities, something that would be a huge step forward.

I look forward to seeing how this service pattern plays out, and it's just great to see the LIRR using their deadhead equipment to their advantage to provide a very robust line of service. This is going to be a huge event, and getting people to and from it as quickly as possible is key, and this should be a huge motivation to not drive. 

If you'd like to view the full timetable including all service to the event, you can do so by visiting MTA.info.

Let's talk about the M3s

For the majority of LIRR riders, at least those in electrified territory, the train that comes rolling into the station each morning. You peer off the platform, and most of the time, a train made of M7 equipment rolls in. That is fair, as the M7 easily represents the largest portion of the fleet, with 836 of them rolling around electric territory. For the most part, the majority of trains are run by M7 equipment, however, every now and then, commuters will get a pleasant surprise and get an M9, or get an unpleasant surprise with a Budd M3s. 

M3s coming into Syosset (Photo: The LIRR Today)

The M3s a dying breed, currently represent a very small portion of the RR’s fleet. That’s bad considering the equipment coordinator will avoid these cars due to their age and reliability. The thing is, you either love their old nostaglic 80s retro design that gives you a blast to the past, or you hate the reality which is beaten-up, held together only by duct-tape.

Recently, the LIRR has finished rolling in the "M3 replacements", the M9s. You may ask why these cars are still in service, well that’s because the LIRR still needs extra capacity after East Side Access opened. These cars are expected to remain in service for another 3 or so years, as the MTA is funding additional replacements to get the last of these cars out of service.

In the rare cases where an M3 would quietly slither into a station, you would normally hear a couple of mumbled annoyances and sighs from commuters. Many people (especially commuters) do not like M3s, and it’s hard to blame them. These cars are from the 1980s, are aging, and did not go through a fancy mid-life overhaul like their Metro-North counterparts did. I mean, for many regular passengers, it’s not a nice surprise to see cars that are dirty and don’t gleam in the sun like the M9s or M7s. 

While I (and most commuters) wouldn’t call the M3s our favorites, there are also some unseen advantages to this equipment. To start, they feature more seats then the M7s, when they were first introduced, a two-car pair could fit 234 passengers seated, and a twelve-car set could seat 1,404 passengers, compared to the M7s which can only seat 1,266 passengers, a mere 138 less!

Now, this may not seem like a lot of extra capacity, but, when it’s rush hour, every seat counts and an extra 137 seats can mean the difference between people sitting or standing. The MTA knows that and they try to assign the M3s to the busiest rush hour trains; however, as these trains age even more, it’s become more difficult to rely on these cars.

If you’re a railfan or even just a normal passenger yet you're dying to some M3 action before they are gone for good, they are very commonly placed on the Jamaica - Atlantic Terminal shuttles during weekdays. They also make some appearances on rush hour trains, like #1515, the 6:44 AM from Huntington to Penn, where I’ve seen it multiple times and they normally are assigned to at least 1 PM rush hour run to Ronkonkoma, however, recently, it's been getting more sparse where. I've noticed in the last month or so they've been running more 12 car sets of them around, and while they still make up a shadow of their former fleet numbers, they are starting to return them to service slowly now that they have the excuse that the new M9As are on the way. During off-peak hours, apart from the Atlantic shuttle, it’s pretty rare to see them, only for equipment moves or passenger extras, they’re normally in yards during those times. They aren't normally found on weekends though. 

The M3s also aren’t really capable of going on the West Hempstead branch due to the substation near Malverne having issues with dealing with excess amperage, meaning that if they exceed P1 on the throttle, in either direction, the fuses will overload and blow up, causing the M3s and/or third rail to shut off. This makes it especially rare to catch them here.

Now I also recommend checking out Metro-North, which while doesn’t use them that much, it’s much easier to find them their then it is on the LIRR. To be honest with you, I haven’t been on the M3s too many times in my life, so they definitely don’t compare with the M7 or M9s for me, but I do like them and it will be sad to see them go.

Whether you're a railfan that enjoys them or a commuter that loathes them, the last of their replacements are on the way, so I recommend that you enjoy them before the Budd Metropolitans are gone for good.

LIRR strike possibility increasing, service could be suspended as early as Sept 18

As we get closer and closer to the possibility of an LIRR strike, the LIRR has been ramping up it's efforts to prepare for a strike.

The LIRR claims the unions haven't been cooperative, outright rejecting offers. Federal mediators have said that a voluntary settlement cannot be achieved, therefore, unless someone appoints the "Presidential Emergency Board of mediators" then the chances of a strike are high.  

John McCarthy, head of chief policy and external relations at the MTA has said that they've requested a 16% raise over 3 years. While the MTA seams to think that's unreasonable, Kevin Sexton, who's president of the locomotive engineers union says that his organizations demands are "exceedingly reasonable". I'm personally in favor of the raise, since, while MTA employees are some of the highest paying in the nation, they also face the highest cost of living, too. 

Working from home

The LIRR's strike congruency plan consists of a mix of shuttle busses and ferries, specifically aimed for those who can't work from home. They've said that many of the shuttle busses will go to/from Queens, and given the last plan that was announced for the supposed-to-be 2014 strike, the possible shutte routes could be:

• Ronkonkoma (to Mets-Willets Point subway station)
• Deer Park (to Mets-Willets Point subway station)
• Manhasset (to Mets-Willets Point subway station)
• Hicksville (to Woodhaven Boulevard subway station)
• Seaford (to Howard Beach-JFK Airport subway station)
• Bellmore (to Howard Beach-JFK Airport subway station)
• Freeport (to Howard Beach-JFK Airport subway station)
• Nassau Community College (to Howard Beach-JFK Airport subway station)

For now, we'll have to see what happens. It's anyone's guess what will come of this.

MNR fare hike in CT

MNR is once again raising fares, this time by 5% in Connecticut. This will bring the ticket price up a bit, from $16 for example, from Stamford to GCT, to $17. The fare hike separated in two parts, with the first one going into affect this past Labor Day, while the second round will go into effect next summer on July 1st. The reason behind the fare hikes is apparently due to increased ridership on the line, specifically between Stamford and New Haven which is causing funding gaps and to maintain the same lavish level of service provided, they must issue hikes. 

This move is on the contrary to the LIRR which instead of improving service when issuing fare hikes is instead cutting it.

Interlocking Walkthrough: STONY

(Photo: Railfanning Meteorologist Productions)

Since it’s time for school to start up and namesake STONY interlocking is located in Stony Brook near Stony Brook University, I thought this was an ideal time to checkout STONY interlocking on the eastern edge of the Port Jefferson Branch. Like many Port Jefferson Branch interlockings, instead of there being a siding before the station, the station itself is a siding which makes for much more efficient use of time, therefore, STONY is divided into two parts on both sides of the station.

Switches

STONY Interlocking is a very simple interlocking, with STONY 1 splitting the line into 2 tracks west of the station platform, then STONY 2 doing the same to the east. It's located 53 miles away from LIC, making it the second to last interlocking on the Port Jefferson Branch.

STONY 1 (Photo: Tri-State Rail NOW)

Signals

STONY has the old style position light signals, as seen in this photo.

And that's about it for STONY interlocking, which is actually a fairly new interlocking, one that came in service in 1992. I know we've hit a roadbump of some pretty boring programming recently, but we will be getting to more interesting things soon!

Interlocking Walkthrough: LOCUST

(Photo: MTA Facebook)

Today we'll check at LOCUST interlocking, another smaller interlocking being the only on the Oyster Bay Branch. LOCUST is a quaint little interlocking, located on the outer section of the Oyster Bay Branch, where the 2 tracks merge to 1 for the rest of the curvy route to Oyster Bay. Like on the Hempstead, Long Beach, and Port Washington branches, the line becomes double tracked after the eastern station.

Switches

LOCUST consists of one switch that merges the two tracks into 1. 

Towers

(Photo: Trains Are Fun)

There used to be a control tower at the interlocking also called LOCUST, however, in 1975, NASSAU tower took control of this lone little interlocking and the one and only tower on the Oyster Bay Branch was closed. The tower still remains to this day and is used for the NCPD. I'd hope they'd catch anyone trying to throw the switch!

Signals

Like many interlockings still on the LIRR, LOCUST interlocking still consists of the Pensy-style position light signals. 

Other than the control tower, there really isn't much else to talk about small little LOCUST. The speed limit through the interlocking is 40 mph. Which is fitting for the slow, and curvy Oyster Bay Branch.

Well that's it for LOCUST interlocking. Next week will be checking out AG interlocking, located in Amagansett, also located at the eastern edge, this time of the Montauk Branch.

September schedule changes merely add more schedule padding and extended season on select Montauk Branch trains

So the LIRR unveiled it's September to November timetable change, one that's doing extremely little to fix 

All the tweaks seen here are very minor and it's actually been many months since the LIRR actually made a large change to the schedule other than tweaking when the trains run or padding the schedule.

• Train 7, the 5:44am from Montauk to Long Island City will depart Montauk at 5:39am, and most stations 4 minutes early. This is done to pad the running time which continues the trend from #2703 of an extremely short running time between Sayville and Babylon. However, I've noticed that this train generally sticks to the schedule and that this isn't needed. 
• All the morning rush hour Ronkonkoma Branch trains will depart Ronkonkoma 2 minutes early. This is one of the most aggravating of the changes since there's no point for it. The trains will for the most part have to just sit at CI for 2 minutes which is obnoxious. And they already had padded for one extra minute, which also, wasn't necessary. It's only gonna screw people that will now need to leave 2 minutes earlier, which will screw people's morning routines.
• All westbound Babylon Branch trains will depart Babylon 1 minute earlier. Equally aggravating to Ronkonkoma, there's zero need for this!
• All westbound Huntington trains will depart Huntington 1 minute earlier. 

In the end, the LIRR continues to pad their trains. That's it. No thought into the actual service plan, just adding time for the only reason of improving OTP numbers, but instead, ticking off commuters. This is the second "sloppy" GO in a row where this is all they've done. I hope they do better next time.

Metro-North operating extra trains for Yankees-Red Sox games

Metro-North will be providing a couple extra trains for the Red Sox game today, tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday.

Thursday:

An extra “Yankee Clipper” train departs New Haven at 4:47pm, making all stops to Westport, South Norwalk, Stamford, Greenwich, Rye, Larchmont, and New Rochelle, before, Yankees E-153 St at 6:45pm.

Friday:

An extra “Yankee Clipper” train departs New Haven at 4:47pm, making all stops to Westport, South Norwalk, Stamford, Greenwich, Rye, Larchmont, and New Rochelle, before, Yankees E-153 St at 6:45pm.

Saturday:

An extra “Yankee Clipper” train departs New Haven at 9:23am, making all stops to Westport, South Norwalk, Rowayton, Darien, Noroton Heights, and Stamford, before Yankees E-153 St at 11:23am.

In addition, an extra departs Beacon at 9:37am making all stops to Peekskill and Yankees-E 153. Surprised it didn't stop at Croton-Harmon!

Sunday:

An extra "Yankee Clipper" train departs New Haven at 3:10pm, making all stops to Westport, South Norwalk, Rowayton, Darien, Norton Heights, and Stamford, before Yankees E-153 St at 5:07pm.

In addition, an extra departs Beacon at 4:37pm making all stops to Peekskill and Yankees-E 153. Surprised it didn't stop at Croton-Harmon!

They are also providing additional shuttle service from Grand Central to Yankees E-153 St on all of the days, as they typically do, to provide supplemental options, esspecially from those travelling where extra service isn't available.

Note that this in addition to the typical Yankee Clipper runs!

Photos: Stony Brook (8/2025)