New Push for East End Rail

A South Fork railroad service that could accommodate those commuting into East Hampton Town for work, a service that has long been discussed and was instituted for a short-term trial in 2006, is feasible, Long Island Rail Road officials agreed at a meeting last week with the East End’s state, county, and local government officials. Agreement on new services and train schedules, and a plan for their implementation, could be finalized as soon as next month, with a target start date of 2018.

Increasing public transit options has long been a goal to reduce traffic in East Hampton and across the East End. After meeting with L.I.R.R. officials last summer to address the need for improved train service, in November officials from the five East End towns submitted specific proposals for that service to the railroad.

A South Fork Commuter Connection rail service put in place during 2006 and 2007 while work was being done on County Road 39 in Southampton provided two eastbound trains from Speonk to Montauk in the morning, an afternoon westbound train, and bus service from Montauk to Speonk in the late afternoon. Towns provided shuttle buses to transport commuters from train stations to hamlet centers.

The new service would mirror that trial, according to a press release from Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., who attended the meeting last week, but with some modifications. The service would be provided year round, though summertime schedules would have to accommodate the L.I.R.R.’s existing train schedule during those months, and the late-afternoon bus service would be replaced with a train.

“The long-term goal for the South Fork,” according to Mr. Thiele’s release, is to provide service every half-hour eastbound during the morning commute and westbound during the afternoon commute.” However, a second track between Sayville and Montauk, or additional sidings, would be needed in order to provide the more frequent service.

During this year’s state budget process state legislators will seek funding for the creation of a long-term capital plan to include these items.

In order to make commuting by train a viable option, the individual towns would have to establish a transit service that workers could use to get from the train stations to their jobs.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell broached that idea earlier this year, and preliminary planning is underway. Traffic on the East End “is a serious safety, environmental, convenience, and economic issue threatening both Southampton and East Hampton,” Mr. Cantwell said in his state of the town address at the start of this year.