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LIRR Montauk weekend schedules snub Nassau


JohnQPine

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The LIRR seems to make their weekend Montauk train schedules with no regard at all for folks living in Nassau county.

I've complained about this before, but it is SO RIDICILOUS. It seems alot of the trains on weekends I've been on heading out to Montauk use the main line and travel between that connection between the B tower and Babylon. But they make no mainline stops, meaning that the trains run express past every community in central Nassau without making any stops.

That means that anyone (like me) who wants to go east, on a Sunday in particular (since LIB north-south service on Sundays is terrible and there's no ST) has to BACKTRACK to Jamaica.

Two examples of this BS. I went to go to Fire Island (Watch Hill) on Sunday. To get a ferry in Patchogue at 10:45am. But I had to get the train in Westbury at 8am and go west to Jamaica, then wait for a 9:11am train to Patchogue that will travel express down the main (going past where I got on). I know this train travels via the main by looking at the Babylon schedule, an MU arrives at 9:58am but my train departs at 9:52am, even though it left AFTER the MU in Jamaica. We managed to arrive in Babylon 4 minutes early, certainly there would've been time for a Hicksville stop.

It passes through Hicksville around 9:30am or so and coasts through at around 15-20mph. If it made a stop in Hicksville, I'd have been able to get on the 9:10am eastbound MU to Hicksville and transferred. Instead I had to leave over an hour earlier and spend roughly $7 more. Not only costing me time but MONEY as well. All for what? There is ABSOLUTELY NO FREAKIN REASON the train cant make a stop in Hicksville, none.

If I wanted to go past Patchogue (say out to the Hamptons or Montauk) I'd have to leave even earlier, because in order to catch the 8:13am I'd have to get a westbound MU at 7am and take it to Jamaica. And the 8:13am goes down the main and arrives in Babylon 8:52am, before the 8:58am arrives there (which leaves after in Jamaica).

Going back I had to change in Babylon because the 5:25pm train from Patchogue is express after Babylon, from what I could see from the station it took a right west of the station so it prob went down the mainline, right past Westbury. But I had to get an electric local to Freeport, and N43 and N35 bus back to Westbury, adding approx 40 minutes to my trip (if the diesel stopped at Hicksville I could've gotten a local MU from there to Westbury). At least I didn't have to back track to Jamaica. I know the weekend Montauk trains used to use the Babylon branch, but they changed that last year and now they run via the main.

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The LIRR seems to make their weekend Montauk train schedules with no regard at all for folks living in Nassau county.

I've complained about this before, but it is SO RIDICILOUS. It seems alot of the trains on weekends I've been on heading out to Montauk use the main line and travel between that connection between the B tower and Babylon. But they make no mainline stops, meaning that the trains run express past every community in central Nassau without making any stops.

That means that anyone (like me) who wants to go east, on a Sunday in particular (since LIB north-south service on Sundays is terrible and there's no ST) has to BACKTRACK to Jamaica.

Two examples of this BS. I went to go to Fire Island (Watch Hill) on Sunday. To get a ferry in Patchogue at 10:45am. But I had to get the train in Westbury at 8am and go west to Jamaica, then wait for a 9:11am train to Patchogue that will travel express down the main (going past where I got on). I know this train travels via the main by looking at the Babylon schedule, an MU arrives at 9:58am but my train departs at 9:52am, even though it left AFTER the MU in Jamaica. We managed to arrive in Babylon 4 minutes early, certainly there would've been time for a Hicksville stop.

It passes through Hicksville around 9:30am or so and coasts through at around 15-20mph. If it made a stop in Hicksville, I'd have been able to get on the 9:10am eastbound MU to Hicksville and transferred. Instead I had to leave over an hour earlier and spend roughly $7 more. Not only costing me time but MONEY as well. All for what? There is ABSOLUTELY NO FREAKIN REASON the train cant make a stop in Hicksville, none.

If I wanted to go past Patchogue (say out to the Hamptons or Montauk) I'd have to leave even earlier, because in order to catch the 8:13am I'd have to get a westbound MU at 7am and take it to Jamaica. And the 8:13am goes down the main and arrives in Babylon 8:52am, before the 8:58am arrives there (which leaves after in Jamaica).

Going back I had to change in Babylon because the 5:25pm train from Patchogue is express after Babylon, from what I could see from the station it took a right west of the station so it prob went down the mainline, right past Westbury. But I had to get an electric local to Freeport, and N43 and N35 bus back to Westbury, adding approx 40 minutes to my trip (if the diesel stopped at Hicksville I could've gotten a local MU from there to Westbury). At least I didn't have to back track to Jamaica. I know the weekend Montauk trains used to use the Babylon branch, but they changed that last year and now they run via the main.

 

That would irritate me too. At least stop in hicksville, jeeze.

 

- Andy

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The MTA's point of making Montauk service like that is because its wants to get those people who live out there to and from NYC as fast as they can. A stop in Hickville and Babylon would be nice, if the MTA sees no ones stops there on the Montauk expresses, then they might just cut it.

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The MTA's point of making Montauk service like that is because its wants to get those people who live out there to and from NYC as fast as they can. A stop in Hickville and Babylon would be nice, if the MTA sees no ones stops there on the Montauk expresses, then they might just cut it.

 

Yea, but like when i lived out in that area, hicksville was a pretty busy place plus it's near the center of nassau county. I hope they fix this soon/for next year.

 

- Andy

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Mineola is the closest station to the center of Nassau County IINM.

 

Yea, but.. it's not used as much as far as i've seen. I once sat there 6 hours and saw maybe 200 people the whole time, hicksville probably 1000 in the same time.

 

- Andy

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Yea, but.. it's not used as much as far as i've seen. I once sat there 6 hours and saw maybe 200 people the whole time, hicksville probably 1000 in the same time.

 

- Andy

 

Hicksville is definitely one of the busiest suburban stations on the Mainline the only other station that might be close to it in boardings on the route is Ronkonkoma, Mineola is also a highly patronized station as well...everytime I'm on a train that stops at Mineola all the available seats (which is a significant amount) become full or vice versa

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  • 1 month later...
The LIRR seems to make their weekend Montauk train schedules with no regard at all for folks living in Nassau county.

I've complained about this before, but it is SO RIDICILOUS. It seems alot of the trains on weekends I've been on heading out to Montauk use the main line and travel between that connection between the B tower and Babylon. But they make no mainline stops, meaning that the trains run express past every community in central Nassau without making any stops.

That means that anyone (like me) who wants to go east, on a Sunday in particular (since LIB north-south service on Sundays is terrible and there's no ST) has to BACKTRACK to Jamaica.

Two examples of this BS. I went to go to Fire Island (Watch Hill) on Sunday. To get a ferry in Patchogue at 10:45am. But I had to get the train in Westbury at 8am and go west to Jamaica, then wait for a 9:11am train to Patchogue that will travel express down the main (going past where I got on). I know this train travels via the main by looking at the Babylon schedule, an MU arrives at 9:58am but my train departs at 9:52am, even though it left AFTER the MU in Jamaica. We managed to arrive in Babylon 4 minutes early, certainly there would've been time for a Hicksville stop.

It passes through Hicksville around 9:30am or so and coasts through at around 15-20mph. If it made a stop in Hicksville, I'd have been able to get on the 9:10am eastbound MU to Hicksville and transferred. Instead I had to leave over an hour earlier and spend roughly $7 more. Not only costing me time but MONEY as well. All for what? There is ABSOLUTELY NO FREAKIN REASON the train cant make a stop in Hicksville, none.

If I wanted to go past Patchogue (say out to the Hamptons or Montauk) I'd have to leave even earlier, because in order to catch the 8:13am I'd have to get a westbound MU at 7am and take it to Jamaica. And the 8:13am goes down the main and arrives in Babylon 8:52am, before the 8:58am arrives there (which leaves after in Jamaica).

Going back I had to change in Babylon because the 5:25pm train from Patchogue is express after Babylon, from what I could see from the station it took a right west of the station so it prob went down the mainline, right past Westbury. But I had to get an electric local to Freeport, and N43 and N35 bus back to Westbury, adding approx 40 minutes to my trip (if the diesel stopped at Hicksville I could've gotten a local MU from there to Westbury). At least I didn't have to back track to Jamaica. I know the weekend Montauk trains used to use the Babylon branch, but they changed that last year and now they run via the main.

 

 

 

Um okay and your point is? Yes, I live in Southampton and yes I ride the LIRR Montauk Branch and apparently you don't read the schedule do you? During the weekday mornings, one Hunterspoint bound train FROM Montauk stops at Hicksville and Mineola. This is because the LIRR cut a train on the Port Jefferson and Oyster Branch a few years ago. My mother rides that train everyday for the past 11 years and she hates that the Montauk Train stops at those stations. It use to be after Sayville, the next stop was Jamaica!

 

Now on my 1:05 AM train (and that's I think EVERY MORNING) leaves Jamaica and gets to Southampton at 3:18 AM. That train stops at Hicksville. During the day and some rush hours...WHO CARES ABOUT NASSAU! You have something the I wish we had out here. That is MORE SERVICE! Your Ronkonkoma Branch and Huntington/Port Jefferson Branch runs every hour. Montauk is like every two hours at least!

 

By stopping at Hicksville and Mineola, we are doing NASSAU customers a favor. Otherwise, use Montauk passengers have the right to zip right through NASSAU since we have a longer commute as compared to go from Jamaica to Hicksville. Please...I wish my commute was like that.

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