Some improvements on the South Fork underway

(Photo: Wikipedia)

Surprisingly, the LIRR has recently been making a couple of improvements out on the South Fork that will be ready just in time to roll-out for both Memorial Day and Shinnecock Hills at Southampton in June.

The first improvement is a temporary platform on the southern-side of Hampton Bays. Currently, Hampton Bays, like all the other stations on the South Fork, currently only has one platform, and the dual-platform design will allow two trains, going in both directions to do their station work simultaneously, which will provide more operational flexibility, boosting capacity and reducing delays.

While the LIRR has deemed the platform "temporary", officials in the town of Southampton are hopeful that the platform could one day become permanent, helping to further boost the South Fork Commuter Connection.

Additionally, the LIRR is also working to extend the siding in Southampton by 80 feet, with the further 

While small, I truly feel these upgrades will both go a long way and will open the door for more improvements along the South Fork. While a small first step, the improved operational flexibility will hopefully reduce some of the egregious delays that plague the South Fork every summer. Additionally, these upgrades will hopefully pave the way for larger improvements, such as new stations and more dual-platforms, both which would allow for truly meaningful service upgrades, such as the expansion of SFCC.