Babylon Peak Service Disrupted through Thurs PM

The LIRR revised its timetable for when peak service will return to normal following Sunday's , telling customers in a statement on its website it expects to have the East River Tunnel back online by Friday morning’s rush.

that the delays and cancelations due to Amtrak’s clearing and repair of the tunnel – which has affected peak service on many lines including the Babylon branch that runs through Lindenhurst – would continue through Wednesday.

However, Wednesday night the LIRR website alerted riders that there’ll be more service disruptions: “As a result of the on-going repair work in the tunnel, the LIRR will again reduce, by about a quarter, the number of trains that the LIRR normally operates into Penn Station during the morning rush.”

As done on Tuesday, a total of 22 of the 98 trains normally running into Penn Station will be canceled, terminated or diverted Wednesday morning.

Here’s the latest set of Babylon branch service changes posted to the LIRR website affecting Wednesday morning’s commute:

• The 5:56 a.m. train from Babylon, due at New York at 6:59 a.m., will be diverted to Atlantic Terminal.
• The 6:42 a.m. train from Babylon, due at New York at 7:49 a.m., is canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 6:59 p.m. train from Massapequa Park to Atlantic Terminal, which will make added stops.
• The 7:37 a.m. train from Babylon, due at New York at 8:48 a.m., will be canceled at Jamaica.
• The 8:35 a.m. train from Babylon, due at New York at 9:37 a.m., will be canceled at Jamaica.

In addition, these trains on the Babylon branch will also be affected:

• The 6:14 a.m. train from Massapequa Park, due at New York at 7:08 a.m., is canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 6:12 a.m. train from Babylon, which will make added stops.
• The 6:57 a.m. train from Freeport, due at New York at 7:40 a.m., will be diverted to Atlantic Terminal.
• The 7:29 a.m. train from Freeport, due at New York at 8:13 a.m., will be canceled at Jamaica.
• The 7:43 a.m. train from Merrick, due at New York at 8:31 a.m., is canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 7:29 a.m. train from Babylon to Atlantic Terminal and the 7:48 a.m. train from Wantagh to New York, which will make added stops.
• The 8:10 a.m. train from Freeport, due at New York at 8:50 a.m., is canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 7:45 a.m. train from Babylon to New York, which will make added stops.
• The 8:25 a.m. train from Freeport, due at New York at 9:08 a.m., will be diverted to Atlantic Terminal.

LIRR President Helena E. Williams said in a statement on the website, “The LIRR is confident that Amtrak and its employees are making every effort under difficult working conditions in the tunnel to complete the necessary repairs as quickly as possible. I want to thank our customers for their patience as Amtrak completes the work to restore the tunnel back to service.”

Customers should continue to check on service before heading to train stations, said railroad officials, by monitoring the MTA website.

They can also contact the LIRR's Travel Information Center at 718-217-5477 (718-217-LIRR). Hearing impaired customers can use the free 711 relay at 718-217-5477.