LIRR offering increased summer beach service

Riding the LIRR to Long Island’s beaches this summer is now a viable option for many more New Yorkers, the railroad’s chief said Friday.

Long Island Rail Road interim president Catherine Rinaldi joined with Long Beach officials on the city’s boardwalk to spread the word about increased weekend service and discount promotions to beaches and other summer destinations in Nassau and Suffolk.

During summer Saturdays and Sundays, the LIRR will run one additional Long Beach train in both directions, as well as three additional eastbound and one additional westbound train to and from Freeport, where riders can transfer to Nassau N88 bus, serving Jones Beach.

The railroad offers discount packages to those and other beaches, including on Fire Island. And, with the LIRR's new station at Grand Central, Metro-North riders can now more easily visit Long Island by rail, Rinaldi said.

“Right here in Long Beach, we’ve got wonderful destinations, and now we have increased service out of Grand Central Madison,” said Rinaldi, who is also president of Metro-North. “We’re ready to service communities across New York.”

Friday also marked the return of the LIRR’s popular “Cannonball” express train to Montauk. The train will depart Penn Station on summer Fridays at 4:07 p.m.

More information about the LIRR’s summer offerings is available at MTAaway.com.

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

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.