By Phil Corso
Bayside commuters are invited to gather at their Long Island Rail Road stop early Wednesday morning to protest planned cuts of weekday rush-hour trains, officials said.
Austin Shafran, a northeast Queens native and candidate for the City Council seat now held by Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone), announced a 7:45 a.m. protest at the Bayside train station’s westbound platform in opposition to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority slashing some of its weekday service this summer. The agency said it planned to suspend weekday service starting Monday, July 22, for five westbound peak a.m. trains, including three along the Port Washington line, and four eastbound peak p.m. trains, including two from Long Island City.
The trains will not run through Friday, Aug. 16, a spokesman for the MTA said.
On the Port Washington line, the 7:55 a.m. train from Little Neck to Penn Station – which includes stops in Douglaston, Bayside, Auburndale, Flushing and Woodside – will be temporarily suspended, the MTA said.
The 4:28 p.m. train from Long Island City to Patchogue via the Montauk branch will instead originate at the Jamaica stop and depart at 5:03 p.m., while the 4:30 p.m. train from Hunterspoint Avenue to Montauk will originate from Long Island City and depart at 4:10 p.m., the agency said.
Additional cuts were also announced along the Babylon and Ronkonkoma branches on Long Island so the MTA can build a concrete track slab in its busy Harold Interlocking that will make way for future tunnel construction without affecting service, the agency said.
Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
