TrainTalk - A Publication for MTA Long Island Rail Road Customers

Save Time and Money this Holiday Season with LIRR Deals & Packages
BowThe LIRR offers discounts and packages to some of Manhattan’s most popular attractions. Avoid parking, traffic hassles by taking advantage of an LIRR holiday package—and save a bundle too!
Check out the Radio City Christmas Spectacular® and Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas at The Theater at MSG, both with free rail and $10 ticket discount.  There are additional discount packages to other events including A Christmas Story - The Musical, Elf, Rock of Ages and Harry Potter: The Exhibition.
After a successful international tour, the iconic Harry Potter: The Exhibition is making its way back to New York City. Showcasing the artistry and amazing craftsmanship that went into the making of the ever-popular film series, Harry Potter: The Exhibition is sure to spark curious minds and foster a sense of discovery for visitors of all ages. There’s no place like Hogwarts for the holidays. ELF follows Buddy, a larger-than-life orphan who mistakenly believes he’s one of Santa’s elves. It’s the holiday musical that’s head and shoulders above the rest!  For savings, mention code ELLIRR86 when buying your event tickets online at elfmusical.com/LIRR or by telephone at 212-947-8844. Don’t forget, you can also catch a glimpse of holiday windows and displays at Macy’s, Lord & Taylor, Saks, Bergdorf Goodman’s, Barney’s and Bloomingdale’s. And there’s extra train service for Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and on weekends too. Get to all the fun in the city via the LIRR so you don’t miss everything New York City has in store for you during this holiday season. Discount packages include LIRR off-peak round-trip fares and attraction admissions.
Have a group traveling this season?  Our rates will save up to 60% off regular rail fares for groups of 30 or more (groups of 15 or less may still save money!) Call the LIRR’s Group Travel Department at 511 to learn more. To see current deals and get train information, visit www.mta.info/lirr.

 

Holiday Season Extra Service
In order to accommodate weekend travelers this holiday season, the LIRR will provide additional train service on Saturdays and Sundays through December 30 on the Babylon, Long Beach, Port Jefferson (through Huntington) and Port Washington Branches. There will also be additional service on Friday, December 21 and Monday, December 24 (Christmas Eve) as well as on Friday, December 28 and on December 31 (New Year’s Eve) for those departing work early or traveling into the City to celebrate. See branch timetables or consult www.mta.info for details.

 

LIRR Sandy Recovery Work Continues
The LIRR has been working closely with Amtrak, the owner of the four East River Tunnels and Penn Station, to repair two tunnels that were flooded by the storm’s brackish waters. During and after Sandy, the tunnels’ signal systems, which control a high volume of LIRR, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains, were knocked out of commission. 
As most of our customers know, temporary signal systems with limited capacity were put in place as repairs continued on the flood-damaged tunnels. Part of the repairs required the rebuilding from scratch of five large metal signal cases that hold and organize thousands of feet of wire and circuits connecting parts of the vital tunnel signal systems. Amtrak and LIRR technicians are working together to expedite the repairs. While work on the signal system continues under the East River, the LIRR will run our additional holiday train service as planned. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this recovery effort.

 

Old Man Winter is Heading Our Way
That is why we present the following phone and web info to help you stay informed about any changes the weather may have on your commute. If snow accumulations reach 10-13 inches, the LIRR may temporarily suspend train service to clean tracks and protect trains from becoming stranded. Be sure to sign up for email and text alerts about LIRR service at www.mymtaalerts.com.

 

Don’t Take More Than You Can Handle
The picture of a harried shopper with his or her arms full of packages has come to symbolize the holiday season, for better or worse. In this case, we’d like to take the opportunity to talk to you for the better so the worst doesn’t happen. Our safety tip this month (and for the rest of the year, too!) is “Don’t Take More Than You Can Handle.” The #1 cause of LIRR customer injuries is slips, trips and falls. Luggage is a contributing factor. Some luggage do’s and don’ts:

DO:

DON’T:                                               

Have a safe, accident-free holiday season.             

 

January Montauk Branch Train Service Outage
Rehabilitation work on three bridges in the Hampton Bays area means buses replace trains from January 15 through January 18 on the Montauk Branch between Speonk and Montauk. Customers should anticipate up to 40 minutes of additional travel time. Look for further details at www.mta.info in early January.

 

November OTP
November overall on-time-performance was 91.90%.

Monthly OTP
BRANCH 		AM
Peak 		PM
Peak 		Off-
Peak 		Total
November
2012		 Total
November
2011
Babylon 97.5% 83.5% 92.7% 92.5% 95.5%
Far Rockaway 95.0% 90.5% 94.9% 94.5% 98.0%
Hicksville/Huntington 88.5% 88.8% 91.0% 90.6% 92.1%
Hempstead 97.1% 92.0% 94.6% 94.6% 97.7%
Long Beach 92.3% 98.8% 97.9% 97.2% 97.5%
Montauk 95.5% 84.5% 88.7% 89.1% 94.2%
Oyster Bay 94.1% 92.9% 91.1% 91.6% 95.3%
Port Jefferson 91.1% 88.8% 88.2% 88.6% 89.3%
Port Washington 94.6% 94.9% 94.2% 94.3% 95.7%
Ronkonkoma/Greenport 90.1% 87.4% 86.7% 87.2% 91.4%
West Hempstead 94.3% 86.9% 92.6% 91.8% 97.5%
TOTAL 94.0% 89.1% 91.9% 91.9% 94.9%

 

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