What The Port Washington Branch Timetable Could Look Like

Our first post will begin with a look at the Port Washington Branch. The Port Washington Branch is a unique branch because unlike virtually ever other branch it doesn’t pass through Jamaica, instead, merging into the Mainline at Woodside. The Port Washington Branch definitely isn’t the easiest as far as scheduling and service patterns go given it being a busy branch and the severe capacity constraints east of Great Neck, but it is easier in the sense that you don’t need to worry about coordinating transfers through Jamaica. However, it is imperative that you make an extra effort to evenly distribute trains between the two terminals and to try to allow for easy transfers whenever possible at Woodside. 

Included in the linked PDF file below is the fill sample weekday and weekend Port Washington Branch timetables. Peak, off-peak, reverse-peak and special-event trains have all been included. Note that this is a new and improved timetable design. 

The timetables only show revenue trains, not equipment or deadhead moves. I have planned out the deadhead moves, equipment rotations, etc as I was doing this project and I have most of these moves written down on paper and I have yet to insert them into the actual excel timetables. Nonetheless, I have tried whenever possible to minimize the amount of deadheading, since it’s essentially just wasted crew and equipment hours but in some cases it was unavoidable to make the most out of the resources available.

Key Assumptions:

• One of the first things you'll notice about these fresh new timetables is the reintroduction of the Corona and Elmhurst stations onto the timetable. There's been talks for years about reopening the Elmhurst station which was closed many moons ago due to low ridership, which has came back to this area. It was even featured on the MTA's 2025-2044 20-year needs assessment to relieve crowding and congestion on the IRT Flushing Line. I feel that if they were to reopen Elmhurst, there's a decent chance they may also open the nearby Corona station to go along with it. I feel strongly that this would go along way in providing better access to transit for these Queens communities and help to relieve crowding on one of the subway's busiest lines.
• While this could probably be worked-around should the need present itself, I feel very strongly that the LIRR should invest in going through the trouble of constructing a second track between Great Neck and Port Washington. While this would be extremely difficult given not only is there a viaduct, but that it's also a very fierce NIMBY area, with currently only one track, capacity is severely-limited east of Great Neck,  which is actually the busiest segment o the branch, and this would allow for service levels to be increased to match current demands and would improve reliability too. I designed these timetables in a way to reflect the second track, which sooner or later will have to be built

Service Guidelines:

• At a minimum, service will be provided half-hourly to all stations along the branch during the off-peak periods (except overnight). During off-peak hours, trains will generally alternate between New York Penn and New York Grand Central, allowing for hourly direct rides to both termini.
• During the weekday peak period, service, on average, consists of roughly 20 minute headways branchwide (there are a couple of exceptions). As a standard, the branch is split into two main halves: trains that operate East of Great Neck, and trains that begin their runs at Great Neck, turning via the Great Neck pocket track. To increase capacity, during the peak of the peak, additional trains have been ran from Little Neck, Bayside, and even one from Auburndale to increase capacity.
• During the reverse-peak period, many equipment trains that operate against-the-flow to/from Great Neck to/from western terminals will accept passengers for all or part of their runs whenever possible to allow for robust reverse-peak service opportunties all the while reducing deadheading.
• On weekends, service is increased during the busiest travel times (specifically 9am to 12pm WB, 4pm to 8pm EB) with half-hourly express service provided east of Great Neck, and half-hourly local service west of Great Neck.
• Additional scheduled service to support events at Mets-Willets Point and Flushing Meadows has been included, however, this does not include unscheduled extra trains that run following the event as these cannot be planned, in normal cases, however, these trains will come fresh off the Great Neck Pocket track.

Link to Port Washington Branch Timetable

I specifically designed service on the Port Washington Branch to cater specifically to to those who live past the IRT Flushing Line's namesake terminal of Flushing-Main St, while still providing acceptable service levels in Queens to promote growth. Providing acceptable East of Great Neck wasn't by any means an easy task, considering the enormous capacity constraints, but I was able to work through it to the best of my ability. 

As of now, the best I could really guarantee for the most part is 20-minute headways in the peak direction, and whatever "scraps" were left went to reverse-peak, however, frequencies regularly exceed that especially in the portion west of Great Neck.

During off-peak periods, half-hourly service is provided with trains alternating terminal. While I believe that providing service along the branch every 20 minutes would be a good improvement that would promote growth, especially in the Queens communities, I don't feel like the Port Washington Branch is ridership-ready for that yet, and I think it won't be ready for a long while.

At stations like Great Neck,  I tried to create situations whenever possible . Take in the AM peak for example, in which train 413 (the 6:47am from Port Washington to Grand Central) stops at Great Neck at 6:57am, and a couple short minutes later, train #1315 (the 7:02am local from Great Neck to Penn) rolls in fresh from the Great Neck pocket track. So, technically, you could transfer between the two for service to the opposite terminal or for service to the latter zone. So, while connections aren't 100% guaranteed, it allows a traveller from Plandome, for example, to transfer trains at Great Neck to a local to Penn Station that follows behind the express, promoting quick and seamless intra-island travel without having to go all the way to Woodside. 

Like I emphasized above, the fact that the Port Washington branch doesn't pass through Jamaica makes traveling on the branch more difficult and cumbersome in that you don't have all the transfer options everyone else has at Jamaica, and by, coordinating these mini-transfers at Great Neck, it makes it difficult to provide I tried to keep most trains stopping at Woodside, besides a handful of key express trains along with a couple busy locals, as this is the closest thing this branch would have to Jamaica, and it allows for someone who may want to do the trek from the Port Washington Branch to somewhere else on the island to go via Jamaica and avoid the headache of going all the way to Manhattan.

Reverse-peak weekday service includes a number of newly added "revenue deadheads" that exist mainly to transport equipment for trains that turn at Great Neck, but now stop on the line with the sole purpose of providing supplemental service. During the evening peak, there's actually a nice assortment of reverse-peak trains up the branch out of Great Neck to the point where I subconsciously said evening peak!

I think I've now given you a good understanding of what service along the Port Washington Branch could look like in my new timetables. Feel free to comment if you have any questions about the scheduling or if you notice anything. I don't have the time to write a full in-depth analysis of every train and my reasoning behind it and time probably doesn't permit you to read it either, so, if anything is unclear and you'd like to know my reasoning behind it, just ask, I'd be more then happy to clarify. Additionally, I've made like millions of tiny little edits to the spreadsheet over the 18 months or so that I've been working on this project so it's very likely it’s very likely that some tiny or even major typos may arise, and if you catch any, please let me know of that, too. And finally, if you have any suggestions, and want to see something change, please let me know by leaving a comment at the bottom of these posts or leave me an email.

Interlocking Walkthrough: SHEA

Today's interlocking is SHEA Interlocking, which I chose since it's prime Baseball season. SHEA Interlocking is located just west of Mets-Willets Point, on the LIRR, and is named after Shea Stadium which was former name of Citi Field. The interlocking didn't exist at first, and instead went into service on March 21, 1988.

SHEA Interlocking is a fairly simple interlocking, only consisting of a crossover from the westbound track to the eastbound track, then a couple hundred feet later, another crossover back to the westbound track. Besides that, only the final switch out of Shea Yard is actually part of the interlocking as the others are all hand-thrown. 

I'm definitely going to do another post on the on Shea Yard since there's more I'd like to discuss about it, and that'll be in a future post. SHEA Interlocking still uses position-light signals. 

Well that concludes today's interlocking walkthrough, I really hope you enjoyed this short one! Our next interlocking will be the busy JAY Interlocking, followed by the much less busier PD and SH interlockings.

How to get to Citi Field from….

Okay, now that tomorrow is the first day of the Mets Home Opener, let’s celebrate by taking a look at “How to get to Citi Field from _______” different places via the train.

There’s two Mets-Willets Point stations, my personal favorite, the subway station, and there’s a railroad station on the Port Washington Branch.

from Penn Station…

Board a Port Washington Branch train (it’s colored red on the destination sign) going to Great Neck or Port Washington. If it’s during rush hours, make sure to check the TrainTime app or timetable to guarantee your train stops there. Mets is the second stop.

from Port Washington Branch stations…

Board a westbound Port Washington branch train (they typically run every 30-60 minutes). If it’s during rush hours, make sure to consult to the TrainTime app or timetable to guarantee the train stops there.

from Jamaica 

Board a westbound train stopping at Woodside (they typically depart from tracks 1,2, and 3, and check the destination signs to make sure your train is stopping there, many trains don’t stop there. At Woodside, wait on the middle platform for an eastbound train to either Great Neck or Port Washington. During weekday evening games, check the schedule to guarantee your train is stopping there.

from all other stations EAST of Jamaica…

Board a train at your home station and take it to Jamaica, may require a transfer at somewhere else (take Babylon for example) if you live in diesel territory. If your train happens to stop at Woodside, you can stay not, otherwise, transfer at Jamaica to a train stopping there. Once you reach Woodside, wait on the middle platform an eastbound train to Great Neck or Port Washington. During weekday evening games, check the schedule to guarantee your train is stopping there.

from Kew Gardens or Forest Hills…

Board any westbound train to Penn Station  (unless your traveling there at 3:42am or 8:40am, in which you can get off at Woodside and skip to step 2), and ride it all the way to Penn Station, then, at Penn Station, board a Port Washington Branch train (it’s colored red on the destination sign) going to Great Neck or Port Washington.

from Hunterspoint Avenue to Long Island City…

Board any eastbound train, once you reach Jamaica, use the overpass to crossover to tracks 1, 2, 3, where you should board a westbound train stopping at Woodside, check the destination signs to make sure your train is stopping there, many trains don’t stop there. Once you reach Woodside, wait on the middle platform an eastbound train to Great Neck or Port Washington. During weekday evening games, check the schedule to guarantee your train is stopping there. However, if your traveling from either station, I’d highly recommend just taking the no.7 train, which stops in both neighborhoods and is a much easier and cheaper alternative. 

from Atlantic Terminal, Nostrand Avenue, or East New York…

Board any eastbound train that stops at Jamaica (not that any don’t!), then, at Jamaica, use the overpasses to crossover to tracks 1, 2, or 3, where you should board a westbound train stopping at Woodside, check the destination signs to make sure your train is stopping there, many trains don’t stop there. Once you reach Woodside, wait on the middle platform an eastbound train to Great Neck or Port Washington. During weekday evening games, check the schedule to guarantee your train is stopping there.

What The Port Washington Branch Timetable Could Look Like

Today I’ll unveil the first of the 14 timetables that is part of the LIRR Reworked Timetables project. Our first post will begin with The Port Washington Branch. The Port Washington is known by the railroad and railfans for being the only branch that doesn’t pass through Jamaica, instead it merges into the Main Line at Woodside. The Port Washington Branch is definitely not the easiest as far as scheduling nor service patterns, but it’s a lot easier in the sense that you don’t have to worry about Jamaica. Since I’m aware of this, when making these timetables, I did my very best to evenly distribute the trains between New York Penn and Grand Central, and I will try to have easy transfers available to the other terminal at Woodside.

Included in the linked PDF file below is the Full Sample Weekday and Weekend Port Washington Branch Timetable. Peak, off-peak, extra, and special event trains have all been included. Note that this is a new and improved timetable design.

The timetables have yet to include the deadhead/non-revenue moves which will be planned out along with the crew and equipment rotations using AI and will be written down on paper. They’ll be included in a separate page in the attached pdf. Nonetheless, I have tried whenever possible to minimize the amount of deadheading as it’s essentially wasted crew and equipment hours. However, in some cases, it’s unavoidable in order to make the best use out of the resources available.

Like what was said on the introduction page yesterday, “Key Assumptions” needs to be taken care of and mentioned before this project can become totally feasible. I’ve tried my best to design the schedules and trains in a way that makes these schedules able to be used whether or not these projects are completed but in same cases that’s not possible.

Key Assumptions:

• I’ve added in Corona & Elmhurst stations to the excel timetables, because I think the LIRR will bring them back into service, as Elmhurst Station was featured in the MTA’s 2025-2044 20-Year Needs Assessment to relieve crowding and congestion on the IRT Flushing Line. I also feel that if Elmhurst Station was revived, Corona could go along with it. This also makes the schedules more adaptable, however, it is very important to note that there is absolutely no time difference for WB and EB trains alike to stop there due to the fact that these stations are very small.
• While this can probably be worked around, a second track between Manhasset and Port Washington would really help build capacity up on this portion of the line.

Service Guidelines:

• At a minimum, service will be provided half-hourly to all stations along the branch (with the only exception being late-nights). During the off-peak periods, trains will alternate between New York Penn and New York Grand Central Terminal for the most part, allowing for hourly direct rides to both terminals.
• During the weekday peak period, service consists of 20-minute headways branchwide (there are a couple of exceptions). The branch is split between two main halves: trains that operate east of Great Neck and trains that begin their runs at Great Neck, turning via the Great Neck Pocket Track. To increase service during the peak of the peak, additional trains have been run from Little Neck, Bayside, and Douglaston.
• During the reverse-peak period, some equipment trains that operate against-the-flow from Great Neck to/from western terminals will now accept revenue passengers for all or part of their runs alternating terminals when possible to allow for robust reverse-peak service, while minimizing deadheading.
• On weekends, train service is increased during the busiest times: (specifically 8:30 AM WB to 11:30am WB and 4:00 PM EB to 7:30 PM EB.) During these times, train service operates with 15-minute headways branchwide and operates on a similar model to the 6 train, with the outer-zone receiving express service while local trains start out of Great Neck.
• Additional scheduled service to support events at Mets-Willets Point/Flushing Meadows Park have been included, however, this does not include unscheduled extras that typically run following the completion of an event as those cannot be planned, but in normal cases, those trains will either turn off EB trains at Great Neck or will come fresh from the Great Neck Pocket Track.

Link to Port Washington Branch Timetable

I designed service on the Port Washington Branch to cater to those who live past the IRT Flushing Line’s namesake terminal of Flushing-Main St, while still providing acceptable service that promotes growth to those who live in Queens. 

As of now, the best I could guarantee was 20-minute headways sustained in the peak direction, however, frequencies regularly exceed that, especially on the busier portions of the branch. 

During off-peak periods, half-hourly service is provided with trains alternating terminals. 

At stations like Great Neck, I tried whenever possible in situations where two trains depart within minutes of each other to operate to different terminals. Take the AM peak period, for example, in which train 413 (the 6:47am train from Port Washington to Grand Central) stops at Great Neck at 6:57am. A couple of minutes later, train 1315 (the 7:02am local from Great Neck to Penn Station) rolls in. So, while connections aren’t guaranteed, it allows a traveller from Plandome, for example, to transfer trains at Great Neck to the local to Penn Station that follows behind the express, promoting quick intra-island travel and allowing for quick transfers. 

Like I emphasized above, the fact that the Port Washington Branch doesn’t stop at Jamaica makes traveling on the branch much more difficult, and by coordinating little “mini-transfers” at Great Neck, that makes things much easier. I tried to keep most trains stopping at Woodside, besides some of the major express trains as it allows for people to easily get to the terminal of their choice, and it also allows for someone who might want to travel to somewhere else on the island to avoid the headache of having to go all the way into Manhattan.

Reverse-peak weekday service includes a number of “revenue deadheads” that exist mainly to transport equipment for trains that turn at Great Neck, but now stop on the line just to provide supplemental service. Some of the deadheads that don’t run as revenue trains, however, have actually been kept in the schedule as Mets Extras that run when the Mets play evening games at home.  During the evening reverse-peak, there’s a notable amount of trains that begin out of Great Neck, to the point where I by accident said evening rush! I was also able to sneak an additional train out of Bayside, too.

I think I’ve now given you a good understanding of how Port Washington Branch service could look like on these new timetables. Feel free to comment if you have any questions about the scheduling or if you notice something. Time does not permit me to write an in-depth analysis of every train and probably doesn’t permit you to read it, either, so if anything is unclear or you’d like to know my reasoning behind something, please just ask. Additionally, I’ve made millions of tiny edits to the excel spreadsheet over the 11 or so months I’ve been working on this branch’s timetables so it’s likely that some tiny (or major) typos will arise, and if you catch any, please let me know of that, too. And finally, if you have any suggestions, and want to see something changed, please let me know by leaving a comment at the bottom of these posts or you leave me an email me at gavin.s.wilcox@gmail.com.

View an index of all the other sample timetables, the post about those timetables, and revision history, right here.