Long Island Rail Road

As part of the preparations for East Side Access's opening, the LIRR also widened the two-track sections of the Main Line between Floral Park and Hicksville stations to three tracks, in addition to eliminating each of the grade crossings and rebuilding all of the stations along this stretch of the Main Line. Work on the third-track project started in September 2018. The project was completed in 2022, in time for the opening of East Side Access.

The larger Belmont Park Redevelopment Project called for a new Elmont station between the Queens Village and Bellerose stations on the Main Line, to better serve the new UBS Arena in the Nassau County neighborhood of Elmont. It was the first new station built by the LIRR in nearly 50 years; the last new station added was the former Southampton College station on the Montauk Branch, which opened in 1976 and closed in 1998, due to low ridership and the high cost of installing high-level platforms for the then-new C3 railcars. Elmont's eastbound platform officially opened in November 2021, while the westbound platform opened in October 2022.

There are eight minor branches. For scheduling and advertising purposes some of these branches are divided into sections; this is the case with the Montauk Branch, which is known as the Babylon Branch service in the electrified portion of the line between Jamaica and Babylon, while the diesel service beyond Babylon to Montauk is referred to as Montauk Branch service. All branches except the Port Washington Branch pass through Jamaica; the trackage west of Jamaica (except the Port Washington Branch) is known as the City Terminal Zone. The City Terminal Zone includes portions of the Main Line, Atlantic, and Montauk Branches, as well as the Amtrak-owned East River Tunnels to Penn Station.

Current branches

The Main Line runs from Long Island City east to Greenport. It is electrified west of the Ronkonkoma station; limited diesel train service runs from this point to the Yaphank, Riverhead, or Greenport stations. Trains using the East River Tunnels from Penn Station join the line at Sunnyside Yard. The services that run along this line are named after the branches they use; trains beyond Hicksville, where the Port Jefferson Branch diverges, are known as Ronkonkoma Branch and Greenport Branch trains.

The Montauk Branch runs from Long Island City east to the Montauk station, with junctions with the Main Line at Long Island City and Jamaica. It is electrified from Jamaica east to Babylon. Trains operating east of Babylon are listed as Montauk Branch service and are hauled by diesel locomotives, while trains using the line from Jamaica to Babylon are labeled as Babylon Branch trains. The portion of the line between Long Island City and Jamaica, known as the Lower Montauk Branch, no longer carries passenger trains and is used only for freight service.

The electrified Atlantic Branch runs from Atlantic Terminal in Downtown Brooklyn east to Jamaica, where it meets the Main Line and the Montauk Branch, and then heads southeast to become the Long Beach Branch east of Valley Stream. East of Valley Stream, the Far Rockaway Branch turns south, while the West Hempstead Branch turns northward.

The electrified Port Washington Branch, the only one that does not serve Jamaica, branches from the Main Line west of Woodside (running parallel to the Main Line until Winfield Junction, which is east of that station) and runs east to Port Washington. It only serves four stations in Nassau County. It includes the Manhasset Viaduct, which is the highest bridge on the LIRR network.

The Port Jefferson Branch splits from the Main Line east of Hicksville, with electric service to Huntington. The section from Huntington to Port Jefferson is served only by diesel trains. Until 1938, it continued east to Wading River.

The electrified Hempstead Branch splits from the Main Line east of Elmont (running parallel to the Main Line until just after Floral Park) and runs east to Hempstead. At Garden City, the Garden City–Mitchel Field Secondary curves off and goes to Mitchel Field.

The electrified West Hempstead Branch splits from the Montauk Branch east of the Valley Stream station and runs northeast to West Hempstead, originally continuing to junctions with the Hempstead Branch and the Oyster Bay Branch at the Main Line.

The Oyster Bay Branch splits from the Main Line east of Mineola and heads north and east to Oyster Bay. The first section to East Williston is electrified; only diesel trains run along the majority of the line to Oyster Bay.

The diesel-only Central Branch runs southeast from the Main Line east of Bethpage to the Montauk Branch west of the Babylon station, giving an alternate route to the Montauk Branch east of Babylon. The Central Branch used to continue west from Bethpage to include what is now the Garden City–Mitchel Field Secondary. It was proposed to be electrified as part of the 2020–2024 MTA Capital Program.

The electrified Far Rockaway Branch splits from the Atlantic Branch east of the Valley Stream station and runs south and southwest to Far Rockaway. It used to connect westward to what is now the New York City Subway's IND Rockaway Line to the Hammels and Rockaway Park neighborhoods of Queens.

The electrified Long Beach Branch begins where the Atlantic Branch ends east of the Valley Stream station (running parallel to the Montauk Branch until just after Lynbrook) where it turns south to end at Long Beach.

Former branches

The railroad has dropped a number of branches due to lack of ridership over the years. Part of the Rockaway Beach Branch became part of the IND Rockaway Line of the New York City Subway, while others were downgraded to freight branches, and the rest abandoned entirely. Additionally, the Long Island Rail Road operated trains over portions of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit (BRT) elevated and subway lines until 1917.

The Bethpage Branch ran north from the Main Line and Central Branch at Bethpage.

The Bushwick Branch, also called the Bushwick Lead Track, is a freight railroad branch that runs from Bushwick, Brooklyn, to Fresh Pond Junction in Queens, where it connects with the Montauk Branch.

The Camp Upton Branch was a short branch north from the Main Line to Camp Upton.

The Cedarhurst Cut-off, officially known as the New York and Rockaway Railroad, was an extension of the Montauk Branch from its merger with the Atlantic Branch at Springfield Junction to Cedarhurst, where it would turn west and run parallel to the Far Rockaway Branch until reaching Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway.

The Central Extension ran from Garden City eastward to Central Park (¾ mile south of current Bethpage station) and as far east as Bethpage Junction. The line was cut back to the point where it stopped at Island Trees. Today the western part of track still in use for freight and storage, and is officially known today as the Garden City Secondary.

The Chestnut Street Incline (Brooklyn) between Atlantic Avenue and Fulton Street was opened in 1898 to allow for thru-operation over the Jamaica/Broadway Elevated Line to the East River ferry terminal. In 1909 thru passenger service to Manhattan via the Williamsburg Bridge was established in coordination with the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT). LIRR Passenger service operated to Chambers Street between May 1909 and September 1917.

The Creedmoor Branch, a remnant of the Central Railroad of Long Island (CRRLI) of Alexander Turney Stewart, was a short branch from the Main Line at Floral Park northwest through Creedmoor. It once went as far northwest as Flushing.

The Evergreen Branch connected the Bushwick Branch east of Bushwick Terminal with the Bay Ridge Branch north of East New York.

The Flushing Bay Freight Spur extended north from the Whitestone Branch, then across the Woodside Branch and then the connecting line between both branches before terminating along the south coast of Flushing Bay.

The Glendale Cut-off ran south from the Main Line at Rego Park to the Montauk Branch at Glendale. There it became the Rockaway Beach Branch, running south across Jamaica Bay to Hammels and west to Rockaway Park. The Rockaway Beach Branch south of Ozone Park is now the IND Rockaway Line of the New York City Subway.

The Manhattan Beach Branch ran south from the Bay Ridge Branch at Flatbush to Manhattan Beach.

The Manorville Branch or Manor Branch ran from the Main Line at Manorville southeast to the Montauk Branch at Eastport. It was originally part of the Sag Harbor Branch (See below).

The Mineola-West Hempstead Branch ran north of the terminus of the West Hempstead Branch across NY 24 to Country Life Press Station where it briefly joined the Hempstead Branch then ran north of the Garden City Secondary towards a wye at Mineola Station with one branch that terminated at the station and another that crossed the main line and ended near the southern terminus of the Oyster Bay Branch.

The Montauk Cut-off was a short connecting track between the Lower Montauk Branch and the Main Line in Long Island City that allowed trains to change direction without entering the Long Island City station.

The Northport Branch ran northeast of the current Port Jefferson Branch between Greenlawn and Northport Village.

The North Shore Freight Branch ran from the Main Line at Sunnyside Yard west to the East River where Gantry Plaza State Park is now. Originally built by the Flushing and North Side Railroad, some of the surviving right-of-way can be found at the Arch Street Shops within the Sunnyside Yard.

The Roosevelt Field Spur branched off northward from the current Garden City Secondary just north of Commercial Avenue. From there, it crossed Stewart Avenue just west of present-day South Street before turning slightly northeast, crossing over the Meadowbrook Parkway. The overpass, as well as sections along the sidewalk on South Street, can still be seen today. From there, it continued north before curving east and coming to an end near Zeckendorf Boulevard. The line was used for freight only.

The Sag Harbor Branch ran north from the Montauk Branch at Bridgehampton to Sag Harbor.

The Wading River Branch ran east from Port Jefferson to Wading River, serving the towns of Mount Sinai, Miller Place, Rocky Point, and Shoreham.

The White Line, which was built by the LIRR subsidiary Newtown and Flushing Railroad ran south of the Port Washington Branch between Winfield Junction and Flushing between 1873 and 1876.

The Whitestone Branch, which was originally built by the Flushing and North Side Railroad (F&NS), split from the Port Washington Branch near Mets–Willets Point station and ran north and east to Whitestone.

The Woodside Branch ran north of the current Port Washington Branch between Woodside and east of the present Corona Yard west of the Flushing River. It also had a connecting spur to the Whitestone Branch.

Current services

As of the November 2025 timetable change, the typical off-peak service is as follows:

Atlantic Terminal

3 trains per hour (tph) to Jamaica

Grand Central

1tph to Massapequa

1tph to Far Rockaway

1tph to West Hempstead

1tph to Hempstead

1tph to Port Washington

Penn

2tph to Babylon

2tph to Ronkonkoma

2tph to Huntington

1tph to Port Washington

1tph to Long Beach

Additional services

In addition to its daily commuter patronage, the LIRR also offers the following services:

The railroad operates extra trains during the summer season that cater to the Long Island beach trade. Special package ticket deals are offered to places like Long Beach, Jones Beach, the Hamptons, Montauk, and Greenport. Some of these packages require bus and ferry connections.

The railroad operates extra trains to and from Atlantic Terminal for Brooklyn Nets home games at Barclays Center.

From May through October, the railroad runs four daily trains to Belmont Park (two in each direction) during the racetrack's summer meets. Additionally, on the day of the Belmont Stakes horse race the railroad runs extra trains to accommodate the large number of spectators attending the event.

One special non-passenger service offered by the railroad was the yearly operation of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus train between Long Island City and Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale. Highly publicized by the LIRR, this event drew large crowds of spectators. With Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey's closure, this was discontinued in May 2017.

Intermodal connections

Penn Station offers connections with Amtrak intercity trains and NJ Transit commuter trains, as well as the PATH, New York City Subway, and New York City Bus systems. Grand Central offers connections with Metro-North Railroad, as well as the subway and bus systems. Additionally, almost all stations in Brooklyn and Queens offer connections with the New York City Bus system, and several stations also have transfers to New York City Subway stations. Transfers to Nassau Inter-County Express and Suffolk County Transit buses are available at many stations in Nassau and Suffolk counties, respectively.

Train operations

The LIRR is relatively isolated from the rest of the national rail system despite operating out of Penn Station, the nation's busiest rail terminal. It connects with other railroads in just two locations:

West of Harold Interlocking in Sunnyside, Queens, LIRR trains enter the Amtrak-operated Northeast Corridor leading to the East River Tunnels. When this track was owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad, trains of the PRR connected to the LIRR at Penn Station. During the 1920s and 1930s a through sleeper was carried by PRR and LIRR trains from Pittsburgh to Montauk, called the 'Sunrise Special'.

In Glendale, Queens, the LIRR connects with CSX's Fremont Secondary, which leads to the Hell Gate Bridge and New England; however, once trains leave the secondary, they enter LIRR trackage.

All LIRR trains have an engineer (driver in non-US English) who operates the train, a conductor who is responsible for the safe movement of the train, fare collection and on-board customer service, as well as an assistant conductor, commonly referred to as the brakeman. In addition, trains may have one or more assistant conductors to assist with fare collection and other duties. The LIRR is one of the last railroads in the United States to use mechanical interlocking control towers to regulate rail traffic.

As of 2016, the LIRR has 8 active control towers. All movements on the LIRR are under the control of the Movement Bureau in Jamaica, which gives orders to the towers that control a specific portion of the railroad. Movements in Amtrak territory are controlled by Penn Station Control Center or PSCC, run jointly by the LIRR and Amtrak. The PSCC controls as far east as Harold Interlocking, in Sunnyside, Queens. The PSCC replaced several towers.

The Jamaica Control Center, operational since the third quarter of 2010, controls the area around Jamaica terminal by direct control of interlockings. This replaced several towers in Jamaica including Jay and Hall towers at the west and east ends of Jamaica station respectively. At additional locations, line side towers control the various switches and signals in accordance with the timetable and under the direction of the Movement Bureau in Jamaica.

Signal and safety systems

Today's LIRR signal system has evolved from its legacy Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR)-based system, and the railroad utilizes a variety of wayside railroad signals including position light, color light and dwarf signals. In addition, much of the LIRR is equipped with a bi-directional Pulse code cab signaling called automatic speed control (ASC), though portions of the railway still retain single direction, wayside-only signaling. Unlike other railroads, which began using color-light signals in the 20th century, the LIRR did not begin using signals with color lights on its above-ground sections until 2006.

Some portions of the railway lack automatic signals and cab signals completely, instead train and track car movements are governed only by timetable and verbal/written train orders, although these areas are gradually receiving modern signals. Many other signals and switching systems on the LIRR are being modernized and upgraded as part of the Main Line's Third Track Project, most notably at Mineola, where the system is being completely redone and modernized.

On portions of the railroad equipped with ASC, engineers consult the speed display unit, which is capable of displaying seven speed indications. As a result of a December 1, 2013, train derailment in the Bronx on the Metro-North Railroad, railroads with similar cab signal systems to Metro-North, such as the LIRR, were ordered to modify the systems to enforce certain speed limit changes, which has resulted in lower average speeds and actual speed limits across the LIRR.

Power transmission

The LIRR's electrified lines are powered via a third rail at 750 volts DC.

Electric fleet

The LIRR's electric fleet consists of 836 M7, 170 M3, and 202 M9 electric multiple unit cars in married pairs, meaning each car needs the other one to operate, with each car containing its own engineer's cab. The trainsets typically range from 6 to 12 cars long.

In September 2013, MTA announced that the LIRR would procure new M9 railcars from Kawasaki. A 2014 MTA forecast indicated that the LIRR would need 416 M9 railcars; 180 to replace the outdated M3 railcars and an additional 236 railcars for the additional passengers expected once the East Side Access project is complete. The first M9s entered revenue service on September 11, 2019.

On June 23, 2025, the MTA awarded the M9A contract to Alstom. 160 of the 316 cars being built will run on the LIRR.

Diesel and dual-mode fleets

The LIRR also uses 134 C3 bilevel coaches powered by 24 DE30AC diesel-electric locomotives and 20 DM30AC dual-mode locomotives. They are used mostly on non-electrified branches, including the Port Jefferson, Oyster Bay, Montauk, Central, and Greenport Branches. There are also 23 MP15AC locomotives in use as work trains and yard switchers.

Freight service

The LIRR and other railroads that became part of the system have always had freight service, though this has diminished. The process of shedding freight service accelerated with the acquisition of the railroad by New York State. In the 21st century, there has been some appreciation of the need for better railroad freight service in New York City and on Long Island. Both areas are primarily served by trucking for freight haulage – an irony in a region with the most extensive rail transit service in the Americas, as well as the worst traffic conditions.

Proposals for a Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel for freight have existed for years to alleviate these issues, and, in recent years, there have been many new pushes for its construction by officials. Financial issues, as well as bureaucracy, remain major hurdles in constructing it.

In May 1997, freight service was franchised on a 20-year term to the New York and Atlantic Railway (NYAR), a short line railroad owned by the Anacostia and Pacific Company.

It has its own equipment and crews, but uses the rail facilities of the LIRR. To the east, freight service operates to the end of the West Hempstead Branch, to Huntington on the Port Jefferson Branch, to Bridgehampton on the Montauk Branch, and to Riverhead on the Main Line. On the western end it provides service on the surviving freight-only tracks of the LIRR: the Bay Ridge and Bushwick branches; the "Lower Montauk" between Jamaica and Long Island City; and to an interchange connection at Fresh Pond Junction in Queens with the CSX, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, and Providence and Worcester railroads.

Freight branches

Some non-electrified lines are used only for freight:

The Garden City–Mitchel Field Secondary is a short remnant of the Central Branch that splits from the Hempstead Branch at Garden City, running to Uniondale near Hofstra University and Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. This branch does not host any NYAR service. This branch was used by the Ringling Bros. Circus to transport animals, staff and equipment to the Nassau Coliseum until their final shows there in May 2017.

The Bushwick Branch runs west from the Montauk Branch at Maspeth to Bushwick Terminal. This was a passenger branch until 1924.

The Bay Ridge Branch runs south and west from the Montauk Branch at Fresh Pond to Bay Ridge. At Fresh Pond, it meets CSX's Fremont Secondary, which goes over the Hell Gate Bridge towards Upstate New York and New England. At its southern end it interchanges with the New York New Jersey Rail cross-harbor rail-barge service to New Jersey. This branch had a passenger service until 1924. The entire line was electrified with overhead wire in 1927, and the overhead wires were dismantled in 1969.

Planned service expansions

Electrification projects

As part of the 2020–2024 MTA Capital Program, the MTA proposed electrifying the LIRR's Central Branch, which would allow for enhanced service options and capacity, and to mitigate service disruptions, should one arise. Although funding was initially allocated through the 2020–2024 MTA Capital Program, the project was ultimately put on hold.

There have also been many pushes by residents and politicians over the past several decades – most recently by former New York State Senator Jim Gaughran – to electrify the remainder of the Port Jefferson Branch between the Huntington and Port Jefferson stations, in addition to the remainder of the Oyster Bay Branch between the East Williston and Oyster Bay, to enhance service in the served areas and to upgrade service capacities along the lines; electrifying these lines could lead to more frequent direct service to and from Manhattan, as diesel trains are not allowed in Penn Station and dual-mode trains exceed the height clearance for the 63rd Street Tunnel into Grand Central Madison.

On November 17, 2008, a former LIRR pension manager was arrested and charged with official misconduct for performing outside work without permission. However, these charges were all dismissed for "no merit" by Supreme Court Judge Kase on December 11, 2009, on the grounds that the prosecution had misled the grand jury in the indictment.

A report produced in September 2009 by the Government Accountability Office stated that the rate at which retirees were rewarded disability claims was above the norm for the industry in general and indicated "troubling" practices that may indicate fraud, such as the use of a very small group of physicians in making diagnoses.

Another series of arrests on October 27, 2011, included two doctors and a former union official.

According to court documents, from 1998 through 2011, 79% of LIRR retirees obtained federal disability when they retired. On August 6, 2013, a doctor and two consultants were found guilty in connection with the accusations and sentenced to prison.

Overtime fraud scandals

In 2018, LIRR foreman Raymond Murphy was discovered at or near his home on 10 occasions whilst claiming overtime pay. Murphy earned $405,021 in 2017, of which $295,490 was overtime. According to reports, he was allowed to retire with a full public pension before being reprimanded or punished.

In 2021, LIRR employee and track inspector Thomas Caputo and co-conspirators John Nugent and Joseph Balestra were federally convicted for large-scale overtime fraud. Caputo was paid approximately $461,000 in 2018, of which $344,000 was supposed overtime. He claimed to have worked 3,864 overtime hours, an average of more than 10 hours of overtime for all 365 days the year. Phone, bank, email, and other records revealed many of these hours were fraudulent: Caputo was clocked in during vacation and while attending outside social events such as a bowling league.

Accidents and incidents

On August 26, 1893, two trains collided in Maspeth, Queens, killing 16 people and injuring over 40.

On August 13, 1926, the Shelter Island Express derailed on a switch in Calverton, Suffolk County, and crashed into the Golden Pickle Works factory. The crash claimed six lives and injured 15.

On August 3, 1946, a head-on train crash occurred at the Port Washington station in Port Washington. The collision resulted in two deaths and 27 injuries.

On February 17, 1950, two trains collided head-on after an engineer on train 192 ignored an approach signal and the following red signals at Rockville Centre station, leaving 32 dead and more than 100 injured. At the time, it was the worst rail disaster in LIRR history.

On November 22, 1950, two trains collided after one of the trains passed a red signal in Kew Gardens, killing 78 and injuring 363 – the LIRR's worst rail disaster to ever occur.

On March 14, 1982, a train hit a van at a level crossing on Herricks Road in Mineola after the driver of the van went around the gate. The nine deaths and one injury were all occupants of the van.

On December 7, 1993, a mass shooting occurred onboard a train at Merillon Avenue station in Garden City Park. Six people were killed and nineteen others were wounded.

On October 23, 2000, the lead locomotive (DM30AC #503) of a dual-mode commuter train caught fire west of Huntington station. The fire was blamed on a defective shoe beam that caused a 750-volt short circuit with the locomotive's third rail contact shoe. The train was evacuated and nobody was injured, though locomotive #503 was irreparably damaged. This incident was the most severe out of several electrical fires involving the then-new DM30AC locomotives, which prompted a full-scale investigation into their reliability and safety. The entire fleet—two locomotives at a time—would be sent to General Motors for repairs beginning in fall 2001.

On May 17, 2011, a commuter train in Deer Park collided a baked goods truck that attempted to drive around the crossing gate at a level crossing. The truck driver was killed and two train passengers were injured.

On October 8, 2016, a commuter LIRR train side-swiped a maintenance train east of New Hyde Park station. The commuter train cars suffered damage and 33 passengers were injured – four of them seriously.

On January 4, 2017, a Long Island Rail Road commuter train derailed at Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn. At least 103 people were injured.

On February 26, 2019, two Long Island Rail Road trains hit a pickup truck at the School Street railroad crossing in Westbury on the LIRR Main Line, causing the driver and two passengers to be ejected from the vehicle resulting in their deaths, numerous injuries, and damage to the nearby LIRR station platform.

On May 25, 2019, a commuter train sideswiped a non-revenue train at the siding east of Speonk station and derailed. The non-revenue train was 14 cars long, whereas the siding could only fit 13 cars. Nobody was injured, though it took two days to restore normal service, and the derailed train's front locomotive (DM30AC #511) was damaged beyond repair. The incident was blamed on a track circuit failure; an MTA worker, who resigned following the accident, was later charged and indicted for falsifying an inspection report of the would-be point of failure.

On August 3, 2023, a Long Island Rail Road commuter train derailed east of Jamaica station; 13 people were injured.

On April 17, 2025, a Long Island Rail Road commuter train collided with a vehicle west of Pinelawn station. The driver of the car was killed and the first car of the train was damaged.