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LIRR will not run an additional South Fork train this summer

Kathy Willens
/
AP

This summer, the Long Island Railroad will not offer a Friday morning commuter train on the South Fork. The request for the train was made by elected, school and hospital officials. 

On weekdays, the South Fork Commuter Connection provides additional trains between Speonk and Montauk — two eastbound morning trains, and two westbound trains in the afternoon.

But, LIRR officials announced that beginning Memorial Day, those trains will no longer run on Fridays during the summer.

In an April letter, elected officials, school workers and hospital leaders requested at least one train be kept on Friday mornings. However, the idea was rejected because LIRR needed their equipment and infrastructure elsewhere.

New York State Assemblymember Fred Thiele called the decision “foolish and short-sided” on Monday, considering the recent population growth in the region caused by the pandemic.

The South Fork Commuter Connection began operating in 2019. But service was suspended at the beginning of the pandemic. It was reinstated last September, and has become popular with commuters, helping them avoid the heavy Hamptons traffic.

Sabrina is host and producer of WSHU’s daily podcast After All Things. She also produces the climate podcast Higher Ground and other long-form news and music programs at the station. Sabrina spent two years as a WSHU fellow, working as a reporter and assisting with production of The Full Story.