LIRR will run year-round direct trips from Penn Station to Montauk
Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr
Direct journeys to Montauk on the Long Island Rail Road will no longer be seasonal, with transit officials making the service permanently year-round. Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday announced service changes and infrastructure upgrades to the LIRR’s Montauk Branch, including the addition of a year-round weekday 5:13 p.m. train from Penn Station to the coastal hamlet, providing a one-seat journey to the eastern end of Long Island. Set to begin next month, the added service comes as the Montauk Branch has experienced continued growth, with ridership increasing 6.4 percent compared to the same period last year.
The service currently operates throughout the summer, providing a convenient one-seat journey to Montauk. During the off-season, however, passengers must make at least one transfer, lengthening an already long trip that takes roughly three hours and 10 minutes even without a transfer.
Ridership on the branch continues to reach new highs, with 1,212,229 passengers recorded so far this year. Several stations along the Montauk line have also seen substantial ridership increases, including Hamptons Bay, up 23 percent, and Southampton, up 46 percent compared to last year.
Additionally, during the summer, many trains to and from Montauk operate at close to 100 percent capacity. The continued growth in ridership has prompted the LIRR to expand the direct service year-round to meet passenger demand.
“As we continue to show our commitment to the east end of Long Island, these improvements on the Montauk Branch will deliver even more reliable service and shorter waits for the thousands of daily LIRR riders who depend on us,” LIRR President Rob Free said.
“With a new year-round weekday one seat ride to Montauk from Penn Station, we’re delivering the kind of convenient, predictable service our customers deserve while supporting the tourism and local industries that power the East End,” he added.
Complementing the new service is a two-phase infrastructure project that will extend a track siding between Southampton and Montauk and install a second platform at Hampton Bays station.
A 27-mile stretch of single-track rail between Southampton and Montauk currently limits the number of Montauk Branch trains that can operate. The project will extend the train car siding at Amagansett by 14 LIRR train-car lengths, reducing the single-track section to 11 miles between Amagansett and Montauk and 16 miles between Southampton and Amagansett.
The project will improve scheduling flexibility and the LIRR’s ability to recover from service disruptions while providing riders with more reliable service. Construction is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2028, with completion anticipated in the second quarter of 2029.
Phase two will make permanent a temporary second platform installed at Hampton Bays station for U.S. Open events at Shinnecock Hills, when the station experiences increased demand. The new eastbound side platform will allow riders to board and exit trains in both directions, improving reliability and accessibility for riders while giving the LIRR greater operational flexibility.
The Hampton Bays station will also receive track and signal upgrades, allowing the siding to accommodate trains with up to eight cars, compared with the current six. Customers will also be able to board and disembark along the entire length of the platform.
A timeline for the second phase will be developed as part of the project’s planning and design process.
“The LIRR is already the best and most convenient way to travel to and from the East End, but for years, aging infrastructure has stood in the way of improving service to keep up with surging demand,” Hochul said. “By making smart investments in our rail system, we can soon make jam-packed summer trains a thing of the past by increasing reliability and running more service on the Montauk Branch, making it easier than ever for New Yorkers to travel out east by train.”
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