What The Far Rockaway Branch Timetable Could Look Like

Our fourth post will take a look at The Far Rockaway Branch. The Far Rockaway Branch is a rather short branch, and is also of relatively low-speed. However, that doesn’t mean that ridership isn’t solid, though, as it sees decent ridership just short of the Long Beach Branch.  

Included in the linked PDF file below is the full sample weekday and weekend Far Rockaway Branch timetables. Peak, off-peak, and reverse-peak 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 was said on the introduction page, before we can begin talking about the actual timetables, “Key Assumptions” and “Service Guidelines” needs to be taken care of and mentioned before this project can become fully feasible since I’ve built the timetables off of it. I’ve tried my best to make these schedules able to be done with these projects completed or not, but in some cases that isn’t possible.

Key Assumptions:

• The current infrastructure on the branch will remain the same or similar to what it is now.

Service Guidelines:

• During peak hours, I will try my best to make it as “clockface” as possible, and I will also try to meet the 20-minute headways I’ve set up. I will try to provide one flyer per rush hour, however, that’s unlikely considering the branch’s size. I will try to provide one train to/from Penn Station per hour, along with a Grand Central or Atlantic Terminal at a minimum. During most hours, one additional train will originate in Valley Stream, and make all stops west of Valley Stream to provide additional service west of there. 
• During off-peak hours, service is provided approximately every hour to and from Grand Central.
• During the morning reverse-peak period, apart from hourly service from Grand Central, there are also a hodgepodge of trains from Atlantic Terminal to provide additional reverse-peak service. I've also implemented hourly service from Penn Station to Valley Stream during morning reverse-peak hours to provide additional service to these Queens stations.
• During the afternoon reverse-peak period, service consists of a mixture of trains going to all 3 city terminals. 
• On weekends, train service is increased during the busiest times; (specifically 8:30am to 11:30am WB and 4:00pm to 7:30pm EB).

Link to Far Rockaway Branch Timetable

Similarly to the Long Beach Branch, peak hour service on the Far Rockaway Branch has been designed to make it easy to get to and from any one of the 3 city terminals during rush hours. I specifically designed this timetable to run on a clockface-like schedule, except unlike the Long Beach Branch, it isn't perfectly clockface. Reverse-peak service on the branch, essepcially during the earlier hours of the morning, is phenomenal, thanks to Far Rockaway having two tracks all the way to the final stop and due to it not really having a yard, meaning many of these trains are "revenue deadheads".

I believe that the 20-minute headways that were established during most of the peak should meet the ridership demands of the branch. I also believe that this branch's setup that allows you to get to pretty much any one of the three terminals during almost all the peak hours is a good system allowing for fast and frequent service. I have also added hourly trains from Valley Stream during the morning rush allowing for additional trains so provide more express runs.

During the busier periods on weekends, I was able to provide additional service to/from Penn Station (in the mornings), and Atlantic Terminal (in the evenings). I may change which terminals those extra trains go to upon further input. That is in addition to hourly trains from Valley Stream during those that will allow those extra trains to Penn Station to skip Rosedale, Laurelton, and Locust Manor. 

Especially during the morning rush, I tried to add Kew Gardens, Forest Hills, Woodside, and Sunnyside stops during convenient times to allow for intra-city travel along the branch. You will notice that additional trains have also been started.

I firmly believe my current setup for the Far Rockaway Branch will provide customers with a fast, frequent service, and if you have any questions about how this service is ran, please feel free to ask me.

As always, if you have any questions/comments/suggestions/corrections/thoughts, etc, you can leave a comment below or you can e-mail 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.

LIRR ridership increasing since start of Congestion Pricing

Somehow, it’s officially been one month since the MTA introduced its new congestion pricing program- which, if you don’t know, essentially tolls anyone entering Manhattan below 60th St a small fee, similar to EZpass. Data shows that 30,000 fewer vehicles on an average weekday enter the toll zone.

Long Island Rail Road commuters have noticed more people on trains, particularly at certain stations. While Metropolitan Transit Authority officials hoped and expected for these new tolls to push more commuters out of their car and onto the trains, however the overall 13% systemwide ridership increase didn’t beat December’s 15% increase, suggesting Congestion Pricing isn’t the only thing to credit.

LIRR president Rob Free said this: “I think it’s too early to make any direct correlation as to ridership gains being specific to congestion relief”. While he believes the tolling plan could be one of several factors, it seams he thinks it’s a mix of factors.

MTA officials have pointed to the fact that there’s plenty of room in the transit system for that increased ridership, noting that many LIRR trains operate well-below there capacity.

An interesting point of this is where these ridership jumps are located, with the largest jumps being located at the New Hyde Park and Garden City stations in Nassau County, and the Ronkonkoma station in Suffolk. MTA figures show that ridership at New Hyde Park has climbed 22% since January, and that Garden City has climbed 19 percent, compared to December’s increase of only 3%. Other stations across the network have also seen ridership gains including more western stations such as Douglaston and Woodmere.

Credit: Metropolitan Transit Authority

According to Newsday, who interviewed passengers at New Hyde Park station recently, passengers noted that they saw more passengers out on the platform, and on the train in recent weeks. 

Another factor that could be putting more people onto LIRR trains is the ongoing A train shutdown that offers Far Rockaway riders a $2.75 discounted faire into Manhattan during the four-month shutdown for repairs.

Personally, I’ve noticed additional crowding, especially on the Hempstead Branch.

Now, I know the 5:00pm rush hour isn’t known for undercrowding, however, the fact that the branches hit hardest this month seam to be the Hempstead, Long Beach, and Oyster Bay branches, branches not known to be too crowded.

‘Room for everybody’

Not only have the railroads experienced ridership surges though, as many subway lines and express bus routes have also experienced congestion-pricing related ridership increases. Addressing concerns about toll-related potential for overcrowding, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber has said “there’s room for everybody”. He also told reporters that “if every one of the 130,000 commuters who drive into Manhattan everyday took the Subway, bus, or Long Island Rail Road or whatever, instead, it would be a drop in the bucket”.

But, still, it’s not like LIRR riders have experienced this level of ridership recently, though. After plummeting substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic, LIRR ridership was able to rebound to about 86% of what it was in 2019– a year in which the LIRR carried 91 million riders, the most in 70 years. A lot of the credit for ridership not rebounding to its full potential can be given to the fact that many people started working from home.

LIRR President Robert Free, with the goal of extinguishing concerns about potential overcrowding, said that since the opening of Grand Central Madison, the LIRR dramatically increased the amount of trains. Free also noted that during peak periods, the LIRR operates at about 60% capacity. However, in January, a small handful of peak trains operated at 90% or above. While many believe these ridership increases are mainly thanks to congestion pricing, Rob Free believes it’s also important to factor in the testament to the LIRR’s increased performance, which includes growing customer satisfaction scores and a 95.6% on-time performance (OTP) in 2024. 

Apparently, despite so much criticism, the MTA’s congestion pricing plan has been so successful that they have begun hearing from officials off other cities that they are interested in implementing their own plan. Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean New York’s plan is here to stay, as it faces huge backlash and opposition, including more lawsuits. Even our US president, Donald Trump, has even vocally opposed the plan.

Now that we are less then a month away from the new timetables, my hope is that the LIRR will analyze this data, and try to make the best improvements to the new timetables. At this point, only time will tell.