Service changes for August and September were announced by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) between New Hyde Park and Westbury as crews begin incorporating the newly built third track to the LIRR Main Line by demolishing temporary platforms and completing track and signal systems work and testing.
For the past two years, eastbound riders at New Hyde Park, Merillon Avenue, Mineola, Carle Place and Westbury have been using temporary wooden platforms to board trains. Underneath these platforms is the new third track. Before the LIRR can start running trains on the new track, the wooden platforms need to be removed, the track and signal systems need to be completed and testing needs to be performed.
While work on the Third Track is being completed over the next few months, there will be significant changes to eastbound service at New Hyde Park, Merillon Avenue, Mineola, Carle Place and Westbury Stations, including track changes and substitute bus connections.
Trains may run in both directions on the usual westbound track, especially at night and during the midday, to allow trains to make station stops while project crews work on the usual eastbound track at or near the stations.
At other times, trains may not be able to stop at these stations, so customers will connect with bus service at alternate stations to reach their destination. Crews anticipate the use of temporary shorter platforms requiring customers to be in the front of the train to exit.
On several weekends during this time, trains will not run between Jamaica and Hicksville to support this effort.
Track numbers to change
The newly built track will be known as Track 2 once the Third Track opens at each station. The center track will be called Track 1 and the northern (usually westbound) track will continue to be known as Track 3 following its renumbering in March.
Benefits of Main Line Expansion project
In addition to the construction of a third track to the Main Line, replacement or upgrading of seven bridges and the elimination of eight at-grade crossings, the LIRR Expansion project included numerous benefits:
- Station houses modernized and upgraded.
- Parking garages and retaining walls built.
- Longer-lasting concrete railroad ties installed.
- Old switches and signals replaced with modernized systems and new interlockings.
- Modernized electrical systems.
- Upgraded landscaping installed.
The new third track between Floral Park and Hicksville provides a mass transit solution to reduce road congestion by giving the LIRR more operating flexibility. The railroad can now operate true bi-directional service during peak hours on the Main Line which consists of three branches (Ronkonkoma, Port Jefferson/Huntington and Oyster Bay) and, in the case of service disruptions, delays can be more easily managed and minimized.
Safety along the Main Line corridor has been dramatically improved with the replacement or upgrading of seven bridges and the elimination of eight at-grade crossings. Nearby residents will no longer have to deal with the sounding of train horns and crossing bells. Traffic backups due to the closure of crossing gates and over-height truck collisions with railroad bridges will also be a thing of the past.
When the project is completed, five stations will be rebuilt, 10 miles of third track will be installed and infrastructure such as power substations and interlockings will be built. Together, the upgrades will help transform transportation across the region and provide a reliable, state-of-the-art rail system for Long Islanders.
