Port Washington Branch experiences slight schedule shifts

Janelle Clausen
A Long Island Rail Road train pulls into the Great Neck station. (Photo by Adam Lidgett)

The MTA announced slight changes to the Port Washington line on Friday, adjusting some schedules to reduce morning rush hour congestion as summer track repair work continues at Penn Station.

Most of the schedule changes, which apply to three trains, range between one and four minutes. This aims to alleviate the crowded corridor between Woodside and Penn Station, a chokepoint where LIRR lines merge.

The 8:08 a.m. train from Port Washington will depart one minute earlier from Manhasset at 8:15 a.m. and two minutes earlier at Great Neck at 8:17 a.m. Passengers should arrive at Penn Station at 8:42 a.m., two minutes earlier than normal.

The 8:24 a.m. train from Great Neck will depart one to four minutes earlier from Great Neck through Bayside, arriving a minute later at Woodside and three minutes later at Penn at 9:02 a.m. New departure times include 8:20 a.m. from Great Neck, Little Neck at 8:24 a.m., Douglaston at 8:28 a.m., Bayside at 8:32 a.m. and Woodside at 8:49 a.m.

Port Washington’s 8:18 a.m. train will depart one to two minutes later at Little Neck at 8:33 a.m., and from Douglaston at 8:37 a.m. Consequently, it will arrive at Penn Station three minutes later at 9:05 a.m.

During the evening rush hour, selected trains will generally arrive at their final destinations between one and four minutes later. There are currently no slated changes in departure times from Penn Station, Atlantic Terminal or Hunterspoint Avenue.

There were also considerable changes along the Babylon line, which serves the south shore of Long Island.

An MTA spokesman said these changes will be in effect until at least Aug. 20, but may continue until the end of Penn Station repair work on Sept. 1.

Penn’s repair work, which began on July 10, aims to address long-term infrastructure neglect in the nation’s biggest transit hub.

 

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