Weekend discount program, Double Track project to continue, LIRR says
An eastbound train pulls into the the Hicksville LIRR station during the evening rush Wednesday. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
The Long Island Rail Road on Friday announced plans to extend a weekend discount program for monthly ticketholders, and also reminded riders that its ongoing Double Track project in Suffolk County would require further service outages later this month.
The railroad’s “Summer Saturdays” customer appreciation program has been extended to include both Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 11, the railroad said Friday. The program allows monthly ticket holders to travel anywhere in the LIRR system on weekends and bring up to four guests, each paying $1 each way. The discount is modeled after the LIRR’s existing Family Fare program.
LIRR president Phillip Eng said the railroad decided to extend the program, which began in June, after receiving positive feedback from customers. The railroad said it had sold more than 62,000 discount tickets on Saturdays since June — an increase of 50 percent over the same period last year.
“We are excited to expand this opportunity to give back to our monthly ticket holders and show our customers how much we appreciate them,” Eng said Friday in a statement. “We continue to look for ways to help reduce New York’s carbon footprint by getting people out of their cars and onto the rails while promoting the Long Island tourism industry, which extends way beyond beaches and the hot summer months.”
Also, the railroad said Friday that buses would replace trains this weekend and next weekend as crews worked to complete construction of a second track between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma.
This weekend, crews are working on installing a new signal system, perform tests on new track, and put “finishing touches” on station improvements in Wyandanch and Pinelawn. More signal work will take place on Saturday, Sept. 15, and Sunday, Sept. 16, the LIRR said.
As Long Island Rail Road crews continue round-the-clock work on the Double Track Project in Suffolk County, bus service will substitute for trains between Hicksville and Ronkonkoma during the next two weekends, Sept. 8-9 and 15-16.
Officials have said the $432 million project, which began in 2014, would be completed this month.
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
