Switch upgrades will disrupt LIRR service

A major switch upgrade project near the Valley Stream train station will affect Long Island Rail Road service across the south shore this coming weekend.

Since trains will not be able to pass through Valley Stream for 48 hours, alternatives will be provided for riders on Oct. 24 and 25. In most cases, buses will be provided to Jamaica.

The Valley Interlocking Project will upgrade an area of the Long Island Rail Road system where nearly half of the branches come together and 400 trains pass through in a typical day. Switches and other equipment from as far back as the 1930s is being replaced.

The existing system is 70-75 years old and uses an electro-mechanically controlled system with antiquated air compressors to throw the track switches, said LIRR spokesman Sal Arena. The new system uses a state of the art computer-based control system which officials say is more reliable.

Arena said that most of the components have already been installed. The work this weekend will be to put the new system into action and see how it works. If the tests prove successful, the new switching system will be activated immediately after the testing period. He does not expect the work to affect commuters on Monday morning. “There will be contingency plans in effect if there are problems,” Arena said, “but we have done extensive planning and testing to keep that risk at a minimum.”

A similar switch upgrade project has already been completed in Woodside with work planned at Jamaica next year and Wantagh and Amityville in 2011. Planning for the Valley Stream project began in 2000 and is costing about $60 million.

The Long Island Rail Road has implemented these service changes for the weekend of Oct. 24-25:

On the Long Beach line, shuttle trains will run between the Long Beach and Lynbrook stations. At Lynbrook, riders will transfer to buses to get to the Jamaica station.

There will be no service at all on the West Hempstead branch on Oct. 24 and 25. Buses will be replace trains.

The Far Rockaway branch, which includes the Gibson station and all stops in the Five Towns, will have no train service between Rosedale and Far Rockaway. Riders will be provided with bus service.

On the Babylon branch, changes in service will vary. Those using the Baldwin and Rockville Centre stations will have to take buses west to Jamaica. At other stations, including Freeport, Merrick and Bellmore, there will be hourly shuttle trains east to Babylon. Riders can then transfer to trains to the unaffected Main Line to head west.

For more information on the project, visit www.mta.info/lirr/Video/ValleyStreamCutover/