LIRR: No Train Service between Babylon and Freeport This Weekend

There will be no train service on LIRR’s Babylon Branch between Freeport and Babylon this weekend, April 9-10, though bus service will be provided to affected riders.

That’s according to a letter sent by the LIRR to Village of Lindenhurst Mayor Tom Brennan that was recently posted in the on South Wellwood Avenue.

The letter – signed by Helena Williams, president, Jamaica Station in Queens – indicated the reason for the lack of train service this weekend is “an important signal improvement project.”

That project, according to a release on the LIRR website, involves signal replacement work at the Amityville and Wantagh stations, and only westbound service will be affected. Eastbound will not.

The LIRR letter the mayor's office received also said the project on the Babylon branch represents “a major investment on the part of Long Island Railroad to provide more reliable service on our busiest branch. The work is part of the LIRR’s continuing effort to modernize and eventually centralize our entire signal system, using microprocessor technology.”

According to the LIRR, this weekend's signal improvement requires a 42-hour suspension of service beginning at 4 a.m., Saturday, April 9, and going through 10 p.m. on Sunday, April 10.

For the customers who are affected in South Shore towns from Babylon Village to Freeport – including those in Lindenhurst – by the lack of train service, the LIRR will provide bus service.

“Customers traveling east of Freeport and west of Babylon will take buses to complete their trips for most of that weekend,” the letter said.

Bus travelers from Lindenhurst will be taken to Freeport, then transfer for train service to points west. LIRR officials recommend that travelers plan for a half hour of extra travel time.

Regular train service will be available on the LIRR’s other branches. “And customers wishing to avoid using bus service may use the main line for train service,” the letter said.

For instance, Lindenhurst riders can can take trains from Freeport, Hicksville, Farmingdale, Bethpage, Wyandanch and Deer Park. LIRR train service at these stations will be operating normally this weekend.

Specifically, said the agency, Lindenhurst, Copiague and Amityville customers in Fare Zone 9 can drive to Wyandanch, also in Fare Zone 9, or Farmingdale, in Fare Zone 7, for direct train service, where weekend parking is available with no restrictions or fees.

The LIRR also said Mets fans should use unaffected stations, including stations on the Port Washington, Port Jefferson or Ronkonkoma Branches, if they want to avoid busing this weekend.

According to the LIRR website, Montauk customers will also be affected by the closure, since the the Babylon line runs continually along the South Shore out to Montauk.

The LIRR noted on the site that the Montauk Branch will be operating with adjusted schedules as a result of the service shutdown between Freeport and Babylon and the signal improvement project.

For more information about the bus service and to catch a train elsewhere on the island, visit the LIRR website.

Project and service information will also be available on the LIRR’s Facebook page and Twitter page.

For the most up-to-date information sign up for LIRR E-alerts and text messages.

Customers can also pick up copies of the special April 9-10 weekend Babylon and Montauk Branch timetables at all terminals or their local stations.

They can also contact the LIRR's Travel Information Center at 718-217-5477 (718-217-LIRR).