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.