Rahul Somvanshi
The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is bringing good news to Oyster Bay branch commuters. Starting March 17, 2025, the LIRR will add two new trains and adjust another train’s schedule to improve evening service.
Closing the Gaps
The MTA announced on March 10 that these changes will reduce long waiting periods between trains. Currently, Oyster Bay riders face gaps as long as 2 hours and 24 minutes between some evening westbound trains. The new schedule will cut this wait time by more than half.
“The best way to create an amazing customer experience is to provide reliable, convenient, and frequent service to our customers,” said LIRR President Rob Free. “These new trains create more travel opportunities for people to experience all that Long Island and NYC have to offer in the evening.”
What’s Changing
Three key schedule changes will take effect:
Evening Eastbound Service:
- The 10:58 p.m. train from Penn Station will now depart earlier at 10:42 p.m., arriving in Oyster Bay at 12:09 a.m.
- A new train will leave Penn Station at 11:17 p.m., reaching Oyster Bay at 12:44 a.m.
These adjustments will close what was previously a 79-minute service gap.
Evening Westbound Service:
- A new train will depart Oyster Bay at 7:09 p.m., arriving at Penn Station at 8:35 p.m.
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Better Service for Evening Events
The improvements will particularly benefit commuters returning from Manhattan after evening activities. Whether you’re attending Broadway shows, dining out, or catching concerts and sporting events, these added trains make late-night travel more convenient.
This continues LIRR’s efforts to enhance the Oyster Bay branch. In September 2024, the railroad doubled the number of morning trains running directly from Oyster Bay to Penn Station.
Addressing Past Complaints
The changes address specific rider complaints following the service overhaul that came with Grand Central Madison’s launch in February 2023. That reorganization eliminated timed connections – meaning trains no longer wait for other trains at Jamaica or other junctions – which created particularly long waits for Oyster Bay passengers.
Customer satisfaction numbers reflect these challenges. In the LIRR’s October customer survey, the Oyster Bay branch recorded the lowest satisfaction rating of any LIRR branch at 68%. While this marked an 8 percentage point improvement from the spring survey, it still indicates room for growth.
Community Support
Local officials have expressed support for the service improvements.
“Running trains more frequently is always a good thing,” said Representative Tom Suozzi. “We need to keep pushing to decrease travel times and increase frequency for Long Islanders traveling to and from New York City.”
Assembly Member Charles D. Lavine added, “I am very pleased to learn about these improvements to service on the Oyster Bay branch. I thank LIRR president Rob Free for his leadership and ongoing commitment to make things better for North Shore riders.”
These changes come in addition to the new LIRR timetables that launched on March 3, which will run through May 18.
