The Long Island Rail Road is running 19 extra trains - nine westbound and 10 eastbound - for the Saint Paddy's Day Parade in New York City on Saturday, March 16.
Alcohol Ban
The LIRR is also banning alcohol this weekend on all of its trains.
"In an effort to maintain orderly travel for our customers on Saint Patrick's Day weekend, the LIRR is banning alcohol systemwide from 12:01 a.m. on Saturday through 5 a.m. on Sunday, March 17. Any alcoholic beverages found by MTA Police on trains, stations and platforms will be confiscated by MTA Police," the LIRR said in a release.
Heading to NYC
On the Babylon Branch the LIRR is adding the following trains to its weekend schedule:
- Westbound to Penn Station: Three additional trains leave Wantagh at 8:37 a.m., 9:41 a.m. and 10:22 a.m.
- Eastbound from Penn Station: Three additional trains depart Penn Station at 2:28 p.m., 2:58 p.m. and 3:58 p.m., stopping at Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Jamaica, and Lynbrook, then all local stops to Babylon.
LIRR customers could buy round-trip tickets including MetroCards for connecting subway and bus service in advance in order to save time and avoid lines at LIRR ticket windows and ticket machines and New York City Transit MetroCard windows and ticket machines.
Regular weekend, off-peak fares are in effect, including the special Family Fare discount and CityTicket.
More details about purchasing tickets, as well as additional trains on the LIRR's other branches for the Saint Paddy's Day Parade in New York City could be found at this link.
Heading to Montauk
For those planning to head East to the parade in Montauk that starts at 11:30 a.m., there are several LIRR train options. The 7:42 a.m. from Penn Station or from Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn will allow customers to connect at Jamaica.
After leaving Jamaica, the train stops at Babylon, Bay Shore, Sayville, Patchogue, Speonk, Westhampton, Hampton Bays, Southampton, Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Amagansett and Montauk.
The next Montauk-bound train leaves Penn Station at 9:42 AM and arrives in Montauk at 12:46 p.m.
The LIRR is prepared to provide extra Eastbound service in the morning if necessary and has added at one Westbound train to the Montauk Branch schedule for customers after the parade.
That train departs Montauk at 1:23 p.m., and will be followed by the regularly scheduled trains at 3:35 p.m., 5:35 p.m. and 7:33 p.m.
The alcohol ban applies to these trains, as well.
More details about these Montauk-bound trains could be found at this link.
Latest Train Information
For the latest information about train service, customers could go to www.mta.info or monitor LIRR service alerts via e-mail or text message.
Customers could also call 511, the New York State Travel Information line, and say, "Long Island Rail Road."
Deaf or hard-of-hearing customers could use their preferred relay service provider or the free 711 relay to reach LIRR at 511.
