The Ronkonkoma Branch is a

rail service Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

operated by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

of New York. On LIRR maps and printed schedules, the "Ronkonkoma Branch" includes trains running along the railroad's Main Line from Hicksville (where the

Port Jefferson Branch The Port Jefferson Branch is a rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The branch splits from the Main Line (Long Island Rail Road), Main Line just east of Hicksville ...

leaves the Main Line) to Ronkonkoma, and between Ronkonkoma and the Main Line's eastern

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

at Greenport. The section of the Main Line east of Ronkonkoma is not electrified and is referred to as the Greenport Branch. The western segment between Hicksville and Ronkonkoma sees 24-hour service to

Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals. Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The eastern segment between Ronkonkoma and Greenport is served by diesel-electric trains, and only sees a handful of trips each day. The eastern segment is also the only

dark territory Dark territory is a term used in the North American railroad industry to describe a section of running track not controlled by signals. Train movements in dark territory were previously handled by timetable and train order operation, but since t ...

area of the Long Island Rail Road, meaning that it does not have signals.

Segments

Hicksville to Ronkonkoma

The western segment of the line from Hicksville to Ronkonkoma was

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

in 1987, creating a one-seat ride to

. Formerly, service on this segment was provided by diesel trains, which could not enter Penn Station, requiring a transfer. Average rush-hour trip time from Ronkonkoma to Penn Station decreased from 97 minutes pre-electrification (including the mandatory transfer from a diesel to an electric train) to 71 minutes afterwards. The $168.5 million project attracted many new passengers. A survey of peak-hour Ronkonkoma Branch passengers conducted by the LIRR in April 1988 found that 42 percent of the branch's passengers were new to the line: 34 percent switched from other lines (the

Port Jefferson Port Jefferson (informally known as "Port Jeff") is an incorporated village in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Officially known as the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, the population ...

and

Montauk Branch The Montauk Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles (185 km) from Long Island City on the west to Montauk on the east. Howe ...

es), 6 percent were new to the LIRR as a whole and 2 percent recently returned to the LIRR. By September 1988, over 2,000 new riders during the morning rush hour had switched to the Ronkonkoma Branch, much of which occurred in the first month after electrification, faster than the LIRR expected. Commuters complained that the expanded parking facilities at Ronkonkoma built in anticipation of electrification were overcrowded and already inadequate, and that double-parking and vandalism were rampant. In the decades since, the amount of parking at Ronkonkoma has expanded. In 2012, the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

(MTA) started adding a second track to the line between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma to increase capacity. The project was ultimately completed in 2018.

Greenport Branch

The between and , known as the Greenport Branch, is the only remaining

area on the Long Island Rail Road that does not have signals. The relatively small amount of train movements on this segment are governed by train orders and timetable authority. This segment is served by diesel-electric "scoots", most of which terminate at Ronkonkoma, requiring customers traveling west of Ronkonkoma to transfer there. Three eastbound and four westbound scoots travel each weekday between Ronkonkoma and Greenport. Also, one additional round trip is scheduled between Ronkonkoma and each weekday. Weekend service consists of four round-trips each day between Ronkonkoma and Greenport. On Fridays during the summer, the eastbound trip to Yaphank is extended to Greenport, and one additional evening trip runs from Greenport to , running express between Ronkonkoma and Jamaica. Added in summer 2016, this is the only Greenport scoot trip to serve the New York City terminals. The LIRR has tried to discontinue service east of Ronkonkoma on several occasions, citing minimal service due to low ridership. In 2010, the idea was entertained by the financially troubled MTA, who proposed eliminating all scoot service except for the popular summer weekend service. Ultimately, weekday service remained, but weekend service outside of the summer season (defined as

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492. ...

) was discontinued. In 2013, the span of weekend service was extended to operate from the first weekend in May to the last weekend in November. In 2016, the LIRR restored year-long weekend service between Ronkonkoma and Greenport.

Central Branch

Some LIRR maps also include as part of the Ronkonkoma Branch the non-electrified Central Branch, which splits from the Ronkonkoma Branch east of Bethpage and connects with the more southern

, just west of Babylon. There are no stations along this stretch, and it is mainly used by trains with diesel-electric engines going express from Jamaica to Babylon. No trains using this track appear on Ronkonkoma Branch schedules; they appear on Montauk Branch and Babylon Branch schedules, and some appear on schedules for Mineola and Hicksville on the Main Line, if a stop is scheduled there.

History and current projects

Greenport enhancements

Despite proposing to eliminate most service east of Ronkonkoma, the MTA is enhancing the segment's infrastructure. The LIRR is required to install a

positive train control Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains a ...

signaling system on all its trackage by the end of 2018. The MTA initially budgeted $29 million in its 2015–2019 capital program to add signals along the 10 mile segment from Ronkonkoma to

Yaphank Yaphank () is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 5,945 at the time of the 2010 census. Yaphank is located in the south part of the Town of Brookhaven. It is served by the L ...

. This upgrade would install signals, track circuits and automatic speed control (ASC). However, in a 2017 amendment of the capital program, the agency postponed the construction of the new signal system, only including $2 million to fund design. After positive train control was activated on the easternmost portion of the

in November 2017, the Greenport Branch became the only portion of the LIRR that lacked positive train control. In its 2015–2034 20-Year Capital Needs Assessment, the MTA describes extending electrification eastward from Ronkonkoma to

or Riverhead, as well as the addition of a second track between Ronkonkoma and Yaphank as long-term needs. However, the MTA cites the high cost of electrification and other components as a barrier to present-day action. If electrification were to be extended eastward, stations would also need upgrading, since all station platforms east of Ronkonkoma are only long enough to fit one-and-a-half train cars.

Stations

West of , most trips go on to terminate at , though some terminate at .LIRR Ronkonkoma Branch timetable
/ref>

References

{{Long Island Rail Road Long Island Rail Road branches Transportation in Nassau County, New York Transportation in Suffolk County, New York