Westhampton Stop Added To South Fork Commuter Connection Evening Train

South Fork Commuter Connection riders from west of Hampton Bays may be in luck, as an additional stop in Westhampton Beach has been added to the evening commute, beginning in September.

Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman announced the addition of a stop in Westhampton Beach for the second night train, at a Town Board work session on Thursday, August 22.

Under the current train schedule, the second afternoon train terminates in Hampton Bays at 5:43 p.m., but with the additional stop in Westhampton Beach, the train will end its run at 6:01 p.m.

The changes will go into effect beginning September 3.

The new schedule, which was released this week, shows two morning trains and two afternoon trains operating as part of the South Fork Commuter Connection.

The first train leaves Speonk at 6:16 a.m., making stops at Westhampton Beach, Hampton Bays, Southampton, Bridgehampton and East Hampton, before terminating in Amagansett at 7:08 a.m.

At 7:27 a.m., the train begins its westbound run, stopping in East Hampton, Bridgehampton, Southampton and ending the run in Hampton Bays instead of Speonk at 8:01 a.m., before heading eastbound again at 8:26 a.m.

In order for anyone who took the first eastbound train out of Westhampton Beach — possibly to avoid the usual heavy traffic that plagues Sunrise Highway and Montauk Highway during the morning commute — to get back to their vehicle at the Westhampton Beach train station, they would either have to take the first westbound afternoon Commuter Connection train, which would arrive at the station at 4:02 p.m., or take the second westbound train to Hampton Bays and find a ride back to Westhampton Beach to get their car.

Under the new schedule, anyone who took the early morning train out of Westhampton Beach will be able to take the train back to Westhampton Beach, after a nearly 12-hour day, returning to their car at 6:01 p.m.

“Somebody in the morning, rather than having to park in Hampton Bays, they can park in Westhampton [Beach] and not have to deal with that traffic,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “I think it’s going to allow more usability and particularly allow people to not have to get stuck in traffic.”

Mr. Schneiderman gave State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. a great deal of credit for getting the additional stop, saying he’s “sort of been driving the train for this whole process.”

Mr. Thiele was a big proponent of getting commuter rail service to the South Fork. His efforts began in 1994, and after 25 years, the bricks finally fell into place.

For $4.25 each way, commuters are able to take the LIRR to many points east of Speonk, get off at the station, and board a shuttle bus provided by Hampton Jitney and the Hampton Hopper to complete the final mile of the commute.

The service kicked off in March, though it was a slow start.

This week, Tom Neely, the Town of Southampton’s director of public transportation and traffic safety, said ridership numbers are on the rise, although he could not offer specifics.

When the program began, ridership was tracked by the number of people who rode the last-mile shuttle buses, but Mr. Thiele said the shuttle bus data did not tell the full story.

“We are finding that a substantial number of train riders are not using the bus,” he said. “Ticket sales for the train plus bus ticket has averaged between 650-800 per month in the last four months. We started with 324 in March.”

He went on to say 2,358 one-way tickets were sold in March, compared to 7,987 one-way tickets sold in July.

Mr. Thiele said the LIRR attributed the increase in ticket sales to the weekday service.

“Having advocated for increased train service for the South Fork since the 1990s, it is heartening to see that the new service is exceeding expectations,” he said. “More importantly, all the ridership trends continue to grow. People like the service. Based on word of mouth, more and more people are using the service.”

Both Mr. Thiele and Mr. Neely expect more data to come in after Labor Day, allowing them to get a better idea of how the program did through the summer.

Still, both acknowledge that constraints of the single track between Speonk and Montauk is limiting the success of the program.

“Infrastructure improvements to permit trains to pass each other by constructing 5-6 sidings along the South Fork line are included in the new MTA Capital Plan,” Mr. Thiele said. “Once these improvements are constructed in the next five years, we will have the capability to provide for more frequent and convenient service, which will exponentially expand ridership and provide a real public transit option for the South Fork.”