TrainTalk - A Publication for MTA Long Island Rail Road Customers


Take the LIRR to the Beach ... and to the Gold Coast Film Festival!
Beach GetawaysDoesn’t seem so long ago when we were all wishing summer was here. Now it finally is, and the Long Island Rail Road is your best route to Long Island beaches, some of the best in the world. LIRR Beach Getaways with special discount prices on train fare and admission include Fire Island (and its many communities), Robert Moses, Long Beach and Jones Beach. Buses will operate between the Freeport LIRR station and Jones Beach between 8:35 AM and 6:35 PM and return between 9 AM and 7 PM only. And for the first time, at the end of this year’s beach season, the Quiksilver Pro New York World Professional Surfing Competition will be held in Long Beach from September 1-15.
For further information check the LIRR website. And for those with more “indoor” inclinations, there’s the Gold Coast Film Festival that premieres this year (June 1-5) along Nassau County’s storied North Shore. The LIRR’s non-escorted package includes $5 off movie admission, off-peak round trip train tickets and a participating merchants coupon for deals with local vendors. Two LIRR packages are available. The festival includes a mix of studio, independent and foreign-language films. For information on screenings and events visit www.goldcoastfilmfestival.org.

 

Belmont Service Restored
The Long Island Rail Road has resumed regular train service to Belmont Park. Thanks to a partnership with the New York State Racing Association, taking the train to the track is once again a reality, continuing through the end of the Spring/Summer meeting on July 17. There will also be special train service to the track for the Belmont Stakes on June 11. Regular admission to the grandstand is $3. For the remainder of the Spring-Summer Meet, LIRR customers who purchase “Belmont Package” tickets will receive a $1 discount off the regular $3 admission.
Belmont train service was eliminated in 2010 as one of a number of service reductions implemented by the LIRR to address the MTA’s $900 million budget shortfall. Special Belmont timetables are available at stations and terminals or check the LIRR website for further information.

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Memorial Day Weekend Extra Service

The Long Island Rail Road will provide nine additional eastbound trains from Penn Station on Friday afternoon, May 27, the start of the Memorial Day Weekend. Between 2:10 PM and 3:48 PM extra trains will operate on the Babylon, Far Rockaway, Port Jefferson, and Port Washington Branches. Check out the May 16-September 11 timetables for exact train times or for further information.

 

New Timetables
Yes, the summer season is almost here and new timetables with effective dates May 16 - September 11 are now in effect. Along with the usual summer
service to the Hamptons and Montauk, weekend train service resumes for the North Fork. The new timetables also contain some service improvements and revisions due to necessary track and construction work. Be sure to pick up a copy of the new timetable for your branch, dated May 16 - September 11, 2011 at your station or at all terminals.

 

Your Credit Card Security
LIRR ticket machines are a very convenient and popular venue for our customers to obtain their train tickets using credit cards, ATM/debit cards, and cash. Coming soon to your local ticket machine…a new security fraud detection feature requiring zip code entry for credit card transactions. We expect that this feature will be in all of our 272 ticket machines this summer.

 

North Fork Wine Tasting On Board
From Memorial Day through Labor Day on Fridays the LIRR will be featuring locally made wines for sale on one of our trains traveling to the North Fork. As you may know, the North Fork area of Long Island is the home of some world class vintages produced and sold by local wineries. The LIRR will have some of these local wines available for enjoyment by eligible customers (21 and over only) on the Friday 5:21 PM train from Ronkonkoma to Greenport (arrive 6:45 PM). A red wine and white wine will be featured each week.

 

Switch to Debit Cards Transit Benefit Change
As gas prices escalate, LIRR customers can save up to 40% annually in commuting costs with Employer-Sponsored Transit Benefit Programs. Up to $230 in pre-tax funds can be used to pay for commuting expenses each month. However, please note that as of July 1, the LIRR will only accept Transit Benefit Debit Cards, instead of paper vouchers, for tickets purchased through Mail&Ride and at Ticket Offices. Mail&Ride customers can pay with a Transit Benefit Debit Card (be sure to register your debit card with the Mail&Ride Office by phone at 1-718-217-5477) and cover any remaining balance by check. At Ticket Offices, customers can also pay with a Transit Benefit Debit Card and cover any remaining balance using cash or a personal check. If you're still using paper vouchers, please contact the Transit Benefit Program Administrator at your workplace to switch to a Transit Benefit Debit Card.

Transit benefit providers include:


April OTP
The overall on time performance for April was 95.9%.

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