LIRR Cannonball's First Trip 2025!

Yesterday marked the official start of the LIRR's summer season.  It also marked the first journey of the very popular Cannonball Service from Penn Station to Montauk that i've been on about all week. I saw it yesterday, and quite a good engineer did we have!

Only 2 eastbound trains were delayed notably, those being trains #4 (the 8:18am from Jamaica to Montauk), and train #12 (the 1:11pm from Hunterspoint Avenue to Montauk). Train 12 was equipped with 10 cars, and seamed to be delayed due to overcrowding. I'm surprised a train leaving Queens at 1pm would be so popular, but I guess during the Summer, people are able to find the weirdest times to leave for vacation. I was able to see that pass by my station, only because my school had an early dismissial plan test, so I was able to get right off the bus and ride my bike up there just in time.

The Cannnonball only got into it's destination, 5 minutes late, and pretty much ran on time, which I predicted.

Many of the later eastbounds also got into Montauk 5 minutes late, probably also due to overcrowding, which is normal fact of life during the summer season.

Surprisingly, the MTA doesn't seam to have documented the official Cannonball departure (or haven't posted it yet), as they normally do, but they did document the Thursday Cannonball's, which isn't as special by any means, but it is interesting to see the crowds and the president greeting the "Hamptons-goers":

As you can see, President Free seams more excited about the Thursday Cannonball then the real Cannonball. This year, it seams people evened the loads out a bit by not just diving through the first open door they see.

If they do release the photos from the first Cannonball then I look forward to seeing that. But, even though we survived Thursday and Friday, Monday will probably be a different story. The most delays typically occur on those days, and I don’t have high hopes for an exception this year! 

Let’s hope for the best!

2025 Memorial Day Weekend Delay Minutes Contest

The Cannonball Set For It’s Inaugural Debut of The Season

Tomorrow will be one of the most important days of the year for the railroad- as they get ready to transfer thousands of vacationers out to their destinations out east. Various trains serve these beachgoers, including some trains that run specifically on Fridays. Most notable of those trains, is the famous Cannonball route, which departs Penn Station at 4:07pm, runs non-stop over the 73-mile stretch to Westhampton, before making all stops to Montauk besides Hampton Bays and Amagansett, arriving in Montauk at 6:56pm.

The Cannonball is one of the LIRR's most popular trains, and the Hamptons Reserve tickets sell like hotcakes. On busy weekends like Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day, this train sells out even faster. 

Back in the day, the LIRR used to run the train with a couple of Hamptons Reserve cars. It gave you special perks to buy the ticket such as reserved seating, and snacks and drinks along the way. Following the pandemic, they quietly discontinued this service.

Due to the popularity of this train, you may think it has a relatively bad punctuality. However, [Gavin clears his throat], unlike certain trains (if you know, you know), this train was actually very well-scheduled, and is doing much better than it was pre-pandemic. It's still almost as crowded, but it generally runs on time. Even though it runs express through Amagansett and Hampton Bays, it still takes the longest to get from Westhampton to Montauk, considering it's padded considering it has to make double stops.

Typically, The Cannonball is known for being filled with rich folks heading out to the Hamptons for a nice vacation, possibly in their houses out in the Hamptons.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to go see it at Penn Station, but I may be able to have a buddy go scope out at Penn Station to watch it's inaugural departure, so I can get photos for you guys, but I don't know. However, I will be seeing it at my home station, as it flies by. As I like to say, the Cannonball flying by is one of the official start of summer for me (if school letting out isn't!) 

Photo: Trains Are Fun

If anyone is planning on riding the Cannonball tomorrow, I'd love to hear how it goes!