September 2026 saw the Long Island Rail Road run 94.4% of its trains on time systemwide, according to the MTA’s LIRR On-Time Performance data on data.ny.gov. That figure is down 1.2 percentage points from 95.6% in August 2026 and down 1.2 percentage points from 95.6% in September 2025, the same MTA data show.
Montauk had the lowest on-time performance of the 12 branches the MTA reported, at 90.6%, according to the MTA’s on-time data. The MTA’s LIRR Major Incidents data lists 22 major incidents for September 2026, compared with 10 in August 2026 and 12 in September 2025. Each of those incidents delayed, cancelled or terminated 10 or more trains.
Montauk Branch posts the lowest on-time rate of 12 branches
Montauk’s on-time performance was 90.6% in September 2026, according to the MTA’s LIRR On-Time Performance data. That is down 1.7 percentage points from August 2026 and down 3.2 percentage points from September 2025, according to Long Island Traffic’s calculations from the MTA figures.
Montauk’s AM peak on-time performance was 88.1% and its PM peak figure was 93.1%, the MTA’s on-time data show. Riders can check Montauk Branch live status.
Long Beach was at 90.9% in September 2026, down 5.9 percentage points from 96.8% in August 2026, according to the MTA’s on-time data and Long Island Traffic’s calculations. Babylon’s AM peak on-time performance was 86.9%, and Port Jefferson’s PM peak figure was 84.4%, the same MTA data show.
Atlantic had the highest on-time performance in September 2026 at 98.5%, according to the MTA’s on-time data. That was down 0.5 percentage points from August 2026 and unchanged from September 2025.
On-time performance fell on 8 branches and rose on 4 from August 2026 to September 2026, according to the MTA’s LIRR On-Time Performance data.
LIRR on-time performance by branch, September 2026 (percentage-point changes computed by Long Island Traffic from the MTA figures)
| Branch | September 2026 | August 2026 | Change vs prior month (pts) | September 2025 | Change vs a year earlier (pts) | AM peak | PM peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montauk | 90.6% | 92.3% | -1.7 | 93.8% | -3.2 | 88.1% | 93.1% |
| Long Beach | 90.9% | 96.8% | -5.9 | 94.4% | -3.5 | 94.8% | 98.1% |
| Babylon | 92.6% | 93.7% | -1.1 | 93.5% | -0.9 | 86.9% | 92.6% |
| Ronkonkoma | 92.9% | 94.1% | -1.2 | 93.4% | -0.5 | 93.3% | 93.8% |
| Port Jefferson | 93.2% | 92.0% | +1.2 | 95.4% | -2.2 | 97.6% | 84.4% |
| Port Washington | 93.4% | 96.9% | -3.5 | 96.0% | -2.6 | 97.6% | 88.7% |
| Huntington | 94.7% | 94.0% | +0.7 | 95.6% | -0.9 | 96.8% | 85.1% |
| Oyster Bay | 95.9% | 95.1% | +0.8 | 97.2% | -1.3 | 93.7% | 97.1% |
| Hempstead | 96.5% | 96.8% | -0.3 | 96.3% | +0.2 | 91.5% | 94.2% |
| Far Rockaway | 97.8% | 96.8% | +1.0 | 97.3% | +0.5 | 97.0% | 99.5% |
| West Hempstead | 97.9% | 99.1% | -1.2 | 97.2% | +0.7 | 97.1% | 96.8% |
| Atlantic | 98.5% | 99.0% | -0.5 | 98.5% | 0.0 | 97.3% | 97.2% |
Systemwide peak on-time rates trail the overall 94.4%
Systemwide AM peak on-time performance was 93.7% in September 2026, and PM peak on-time performance was 93.0%, according to the MTA’s LIRR On-Time Performance data. The overall systemwide figure for the month was 94.4%.
The MTA counts a train as on time if it reaches its final destination within 5 minutes 59 seconds of schedule. For live service, see live LIRR status.
Systemwide LIRR on-time performance, September 2025 to September 2026
| Month | On-time performance |
|---|---|
| September 2025 | 95.6% |
| October 2025 | 96.3% |
| November 2025 | 95.9% |
| December 2025 | 94.9% |
| January 2026 | 94.5% |
| February 2026 | 93.7% |
| March 2026 | 95.9% |
| April 2026 | 95.8% |
| May 2026 | 93.9% |
| June 2026 | 94.0% |
| July 2026 | 95.5% |
| August 2026 | 95.6% |
| September 2026 | 94.4% |
1458 trains delayed, cancelled or partly cancelled
The MTA’s LIRR Delays data lists 1458 trains as delayed, cancelled or partly cancelled in September 2026, according to Long Island Traffic’s count of the MTA rows. That compares with 1220 in August 2026 and 1177 in September 2025, the same count shows.
Of the September 2026 trains, 1192 were listed as late by 6 or more minutes, 168 as cancelled and 98 as partly cancelled, according to the MTA’s LIRR Delays data.
External Factors was the most common delay category the MTA assigned, at 399 trains, or 27.4% of delayed trains, according to Long Island Traffic’s count of the MTA’s LIRR Delays data. Train Operations accounted for 395 trains, the same count shows.
The MTA assigned 282 trains to Infrastructure Maintenance in September 2026, compared with 149 in August 2026, according to Long Island Traffic’s count of the MTA delay rows. The Police category had 69 trains in September 2026, compared with 184 in August 2026, the same count shows.
Delayed LIRR trains by MTA delay category, September 2026 (shares computed by Long Island Traffic from the MTA rows)
| Delay category (MTA) | September 2026 trains | Share of September 2026 | August 2026 trains | September 2025 trains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| External Factors | 399 | 27.4% | 145 | 248 |
| Train Operations | 395 | 27.1% | 446 | 418 |
| Infrastructure Maintenance | 282 | 19.3% | 149 | 99 |
| Fleet | 230 | 15.8% | 220 | 149 |
| Customer Assistance | 83 | 5.7% | 72 | 86 |
| Police | 69 | 4.7% | 184 | 174 |
| Capital Projects | 0 | 0.0% | 4 | 2 |
| Not categorized | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 1 |
Babylon Branch leads in delayed-train count
Babylon had the most delayed, cancelled or partly cancelled trains in September 2026, at 312, according to Long Island Traffic’s count of the MTA’s LIRR Delays data. That is a count, not a rate. The MTA delay data do not include how many trains each branch ran.
Babylon had 286 late trains, 12 cancelled trains and 14 partly cancelled trains, according to the same count of the MTA delay data.
Long Beach had 71 cancelled trains, according to Long Island Traffic’s count of the MTA’s LIRR Delays data. Montauk’s late trains averaged 15.9 minutes late, according to Long Island Traffic’s calculation from the MTA delay rows.
Delayed LIRR trains by branch, September 2026 (average computed by Long Island Traffic over late trains only)
| Branch (MTA) | Late trains | Average minutes late | Cancelled | Partly cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babylon | 286 | 10.0 | 12 | 14 |
| Ronkonkoma | 164 | 11.3 | 20 | 44 |
| Port Washington | 148 | 10.2 | 27 | 17 |
| Montauk | 139 | 15.9 | 9 | 5 |
| Long Beach | 76 | 8.6 | 71 | 5 |
| Huntington | 142 | 10.6 | 3 | 4 |
| Port Jefferson | 65 | 14.0 | 4 | 4 |
| Hempstead | 56 | 9.1 | 0 | 0 |
| City Terminal Zone | 26 | 12.1 | 21 | 0 |
| Far Rockaway | 35 | 9.9 | 0 | 3 |
| Oyster Bay | 33 | 13.7 | 0 | 2 |
| West Hempstead | 22 | 12.1 | 1 | 0 |
22 major incidents, including the “PSEG downed utility poles at Divide 6” event on September 23
The incident the MTA described as “PSEG downed utility poles at Divide 6” on September 23 left 50 trains late, 44 cancelled and 15 terminated, according to Long Island Traffic’s totals from the MTA’s LIRR Major Incidents data.
The MTA listed “High winds and rain system wide” on September 26 and again on September 27, according to its LIRR Major Incidents data. The September 26 entry shows 34 trains cancelled, and the September 27 entry shows 39 trains cancelled, according to Long Island Traffic’s totals from the MTA columns.
The MTA’s major incidents list includes broken rails on September 1 at Shea Interlocking, on September 23 at Lindenhurst and on September 24 at Wantagh. A “Gapped train” entry on September 19 shows 40 trains late, according to Long Island Traffic’s totals from the MTA data.
LIRR major incidents, September 2026 (train counts summed by Long Island Traffic across the MTA’s AM peak, PM peak and off-peak columns)
| Date | MTA description | Trains late | Trains cancelled | Trains terminated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 1 | Broken rail over 12 switch at Shea Interlocking | 24 | 12 | 10 |
| September 2 | Bad IJ NO.1 track West of Rockville Centre | 36 | 3 | 1 |
| September 2 | US Open loading | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| September 3 | Possible 292 rule violation at Atlantic Terminal | 21 | 7 | 0 |
| September 3 | Equipment trouble Train NO. 2 | 20 | 1 | 0 |
| September 4 | Track circuit failure between GCT6 and GCT 4 | 25 | 4 | 2 |
| September 4 | Heavy holiday loading | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| September 4 | US Open loading | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| September 11 | Equipment trouble Train NO. 658 | 17 | 0 | 1 |
| September 16 | Equipment trouble Train NO. 35 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| September 17 | Signal trouble at Great Neck | 8 | 5 | 0 |
| September 17 | 100 cycle power failure between NA1 and Hunt 3 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| September 17 | Track circuit failure in F interlocking | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| September 18 | Down wire at Brook 2 | 7 | 11 | 3 |
| September 19 | Gapped train | 40 | 0 | 4 |
| September 23 | PSEG downed utility poles at Divide 6 | 50 | 44 | 15 |
| September 23 | Broken rail at Lindenhurst | 15 | 4 | 0 |
| September 24 | Broken rail at Wantagh | 23 | 1 | 4 |
| September 26 | High winds and rain system wide | 10 | 34 | 3 |
| September 27 | High winds and rain system wide | 13 | 39 | 0 |
| September 29 | Heavy loading | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| September 30 | Equipment trouble Train NO. 886 | 10 | 0 | 1 |
How we measured this
- On-time performance is the MTA’s figure: the share of trains that reached their final destination within 5 minutes 59 seconds of schedule, by branch and month. Long Island Traffic retrieved the MTA datasets from data.ny.gov on October 24, 2026 and computed only the percentage-point changes shown.
- Delay causes come from the MTA’s per-train delay dataset, which lists every LIRR train the MTA recorded as late (6 minutes or more), cancelled or partly cancelled, with the delay category the MTA assigned. Long Island Traffic counted those rows by category and branch for September 2026, August 2026 and September 2025.
- Major incidents are the MTA’s list of events that delayed, cancelled or terminated 10 or more trains; train counts are the sum of the MTA’s peak and off-peak columns for each event.
Limitations
- The delay dataset does not include how many trains each branch ran, so delayed-train counts by branch are not rates and do not rank branch reliability; on-time performance is the MTA’s rate measure.
- Delay categories are the MTA’s own; Long Island Traffic did not re-classify any delay.
- The MTA posts each month several weeks after it ends and may revise figures; this report reflects the data as retrieved.