Some LIRR commuters angry over proposed schedule changes to Port Washington branch

A second public meeting was held Thursday regarding a proposal the LIRR says will provide 70% more service in the morning and more than 43% more service in the evening with direct access to Manhattan's east side for the Port Washington branch.

News 12 Staff

Aug 12, 2022, 9:31 AM

Updated 862 days ago

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Long Island Rail Road riders are speaking out against the possible changes coming to the service line.  
Some say they are angry the LIRR may take away one of the express train services.
A second public meeting was held Thursday regarding a proposal the LIRR says will provide 70% more service in the morning and more than 43% more service in the evening with direct access to Manhattan's east side for the Port Washington branch. 
Critics say those numbers reflect pre-pandemic levels of service. 
North Shore commuters are also angry that the proposal would take away their express train access. 
Eric Dejong says the Metropolitan Transportation Authority needs to be more transparent about what this proposal really means. 
"MTA should restore these express trains right away - stop providing the misleading at best data in your new statement and work with North Hempstead to provide more compress," Dejong says. 
Even though the number of rush hour trains for the Port Washington branch will increase, they are going to be divided between two Manhattan terminals. 
Currently, 14 Port Washington trains leave Penn Station in the evening. The number will drop to 10 and another 10 will leave out of Grand Central Station. 
One environmental group did thank the MTA for their decision to cut down traffic by providing train service for more people that don't have it, like those in Queens who now have options besides buses. 
If the proposal goes through, it will likely take effect in December.