October 31–November 1, 2026, is a weekend where rail changes outweigh road work. The MTA LIRR service alerts feed shows buses replacing Port Washington Branch trains between Great Neck and Port Washington from 1:00 a.m. Saturday to 3:45 a.m. Monday. Sunday brings Standard Time service adjustments across the system and skipped eastbound stops at Forest Hills and Kew Gardens.
On the roads, 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic show 0 scheduled road work or closure notices in effect at any point between 12:00 a.m. Saturday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday. The New York Islanders host the Edmonton Oilers at UBS Arena at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, according to the UBS Arena calendar.
Buses replace trains between Great Neck and Port Washington
According to the MTA LIRR service alerts feed, buses replace Port Washington Branch trains between Great Neck and Port Washington from 1:00 a.m. Saturday, October 31, to 3:45 a.m. Monday, November 2. The MTA lists “Track maintenance” as the reason. It is the weekend’s only notice with buses replacing trains, the feed shows.
The MTA’s guidance gives the last trains as the 11:45 p.m. from Penn Station and the 12:40 a.m. from Port Washington on Friday night into Saturday morning. Service resumes with the 3:17 a.m. from Penn Station and the 5:07 a.m. from Port Washington on Monday morning, according to the MTA.
Buses will not stop at Plandome “due to low bridges in the area,” the MTA said. The MTA directs riders to use the bus stop at Manhasset instead.
Long Island Traffic’s stored MTA alert records show 4 earlier weekends with a planned-work notice on the Port Washington Branch since March 25, 2026. Check Port Washington Branch live status before you travel.
LIRR planned work in effect October 31–November 1, 2026 (MTA wording; start and end times are the MTA’s scheduled active periods that touch this weekend, Eastern time)
| Branch or area (MTA route) | What changes | In effect (ET) | MTA category | Reason MTA gives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Washington Branch | Buses replace trains between Great Neck and Port Washington | Sat 10/31 1:00 a.m. to Mon 11/2 3:45 a.m. | Planned - Substitute Buses | Track maintenance |
| Ronkonkoma Branch, Port Jefferson Branch | Some eastbound trains make added stops at Elmont-UBS Arena | Sat 10/31 10:00 a.m. to Sat 10/31 1:30 p.m. | Extra Service | Not stated |
| Babylon Branch, Hempstead Branch, Oyster Bay Branch, Ronkonkoma Branch, Montauk Branch, Long Beach Branch, Far Rockaway Branch, West Hempstead Branch, Port Washington Branch, Port Jefferson Branch, City Terminal Zone, Greenport Service | Service adjustments for change to Standard Time | Sun 11/1 1:00 a.m. to Sun 11/1 3:00 a.m. | Special Notice | Not stated |
| City Terminal Zone | No eastbound service at Forest Hills and Kew Gardens; eastbound trains towards Jamaica bypass Woodside | Sun 11/1 7:00 a.m. to Sun 11/1 7:00 p.m. | Planned - Stops Skipped | Accessibility improvements |
Sunday brings a Standard Time shift and skipped stops in Queens
The MTA LIRR service alerts feed lists “Service adjustments for change to Standard Time” from 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. Sunday, November 1. The notice covers all 12 branches and service areas the MTA names, including the City Terminal Zone and Greenport Service.
According to the MTA, trains scheduled to depart their origin in the 1 a.m. hour will do so on Eastern Daylight Time. “During the 1 AM EST hour, two trains will depart from Penn Station. No other trains will begin their trips,” the MTA said. The MTA lists a 1:48 a.m. EST train stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre and all stops to Babylon.
From 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Sunday, the City Terminal Zone has no eastbound service at Forest Hills and Kew Gardens, and eastbound trains toward Jamaica bypass Woodside, according to the MTA feed. The MTA gives “Accessibility improvements” as the reason.
Under the MTA’s guidance, trains run nonstop from Manhattan to Jamaica during that window. Port Washington Branch trains continue to stop at Woodside in both directions. The MTA said the subway will let LIRR riders enter these stations at no cost:
- 34 St-Penn Station [E]
- 42 St-Grand Central [6][7]
- Woodside-61 St [7]
- Forest Hills-71 Av [E]
- Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike [E]
The MTA feed classifies 0 of the weekend notices as a suspension or part suspension. See live LIRR status for updates.
Islanders host Oilers Saturday as Elmont-UBS Arena gets added stops
The New York Islanders play the Edmonton Oilers at UBS Arena, 2400 Hempstead Turnpike, at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, October 31, according to the UBS Arena calendar. 511NY posted a special-event traffic notice for the game from 2:00 p.m. Saturday.
The MTA LIRR service alerts feed says some eastbound trains make added stops at Elmont-UBS Arena from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The notice names the Ronkonkoma Branch and the Port Jefferson Branch, and the MTA classifies it as “Extra Service.”
Long Island Traffic’s count of the MTA’s published schedule shows 10 trains toward Hempstead, Huntington and Ronkonkoma, and 10 toward Grand Central and Penn Station, stopping at Elmont-UBS Arena in the two hours before the game. All day Saturday, the same count shows 85 trains in each direction.
LIRR trains scheduled to stop at Elmont-UBS Arena station on UBS Arena event days (MTA published schedule (GTFS); counted by Long Island Traffic; “before start” = the two hours before the start time UBS Arena lists)
| Event | Trains toward Hempstead, Huntington, Ronkonkoma in the two hours before start | Trains toward Grand Central, Penn Station in the two hours before start | Trains toward Hempstead, Huntington, Ronkonkoma all day | Trains toward Grand Central, Penn Station all day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Islanders vs. Edmonton Oilers, October 31 | 10 | 10 | 85 | 85 |
On Sunday, 511NY lists a marathon notice on NY 25 (Queensboro Br) from 6:30 a.m.
Events that 511NY or UBS Arena list for October 31–November 1, 2026 (start time as the venue lists it; the 511NY window is the special-event traffic notice as 511NY posted it; Eastern time)
| Date | Venue | Event | Start time listed by UBS Arena | 511NY special-event notice window | Listed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 31 | UBS Arena | New York Islanders vs. Edmonton Oilers | Sat 10/31 2:00 p.m. | from Sat 10/31 2:00 p.m. | UBS Arena calendar and 511NY |
| November 1 | NY 25 (Queensboro Br) | Marathon | — | from Sun 11/1 6:30 a.m. | 511NY |
| November 1 | NY 25 (Queensboro Br) | Marathon | — | from Sun 11/1 6:30 a.m. | 511NY |
511NY lists 0 scheduled road jobs but 3 open-ended work zones
According to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic, the latest snapshot available for this outlook was taken at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, October 29. That snapshot shows 0 scheduled road work or closure notices in effect at any point over the weekend.
The same records show 3 long-running work zones active at that time. Each had been in place at least 7 days, with no schedule or end time posted:
- NY 347 westbound in Suffolk, between NY 112 and NY 25, with a 511NY start time of 5:28 p.m. Thursday 12/11.
- 908E (Meadowbrook St Parkway) westbound in Nassau, between Exit M9E and 909D, with a start time of 2:49 a.m. Wednesday 9/16.
- 908C (Loop Parkway) in both directions in Nassau, with a start time of 2:56 a.m. Wednesday 9/16.
Drivers can check Meadowbrook State Parkway live conditions.
Long-running work zones with no posted end, per 511NY (active in 511NY at Thu 10/29 11:00 a.m.; 511NY posts no schedule or end time for these, so they may change or clear before or during the weekend)
| Road and direction (511NY) | County | Where (511NY) | What 511NY lists | 511NY start time (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NY 347 westbound | Suffolk | Between NY 112 and NY 25 | Roadwork | Thu 12/11 5:28 p.m. |
| 908E (Meadowbrook St Parkway) westbound | Nassau | Between Exit M9E and 909D | Roadwork | Wed 9/16 2:49 a.m. |
| 908C (Loop Parkway) in both directions | Nassau | Between the start of 908C (Loop Parkway) and the end of 908C (Loop Parkway) | Roadwork | Wed 9/16 2:56 a.m. |
Rockville Centre elevator and Forest Hills car rule stay in place
The MTA LIRR service alerts feed lists 2 longer-running changes also in effect this weekend.
On the Babylon Branch, the elevator at Rockville Centre is out of service until Monday, November 2, according to the MTA. In the City Terminal Zone, riders must be in the first four cars of eastbound trains and the first six cars of westbound trains to exit at Forest Hills until Summer 2027, the MTA said. The MTA gives “Accessibility improvements” as the reason for the Forest Hills change. See Babylon Branch live status.
Longer-running LIRR changes also in effect this weekend
| Branch or area (MTA route) | What changes | When (MTA) | MTA category | Reason MTA gives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babylon Branch | The elevator at Rockville Centre is out of service | Until Monday, November 2 | Station Notice | Not stated |
| City Terminal Zone | You must be in the first four cars for eastbound trains and the first six cars for westbound trains to exit at Forest Hills | Until Summer 2027 | Boarding Change | Accessibility improvements |
Published schedule shows changed trip counts on 7 branches and areas
The MTA’s published LIRR schedule, as counted by Long Island Traffic, shows 7 branches or areas with scheduled trip counts this weekend that differ from a typical weekend.
The Babylon Branch has 119 scheduled trips Saturday, October 31, and 120 on Sunday, November 1, against 105 on a typical Saturday and 105 on a typical Sunday, according to that count. Greenport Service shows 8 trips each day, against 6 on a typical Saturday and Sunday.
Scheduled trains this weekend vs a typical weekend in the MTA’s published schedule (only where they differ) (typical = median of the other Saturdays or Sundays in the same schedule file; counted by Long Island Traffic)
| Branch or area | Saturday October 31 trips | Typical Saturday | Sunday November 1 trips | Typical Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babylon Branch | 119 | 105 | 120 | 105 |
| Ronkonkoma Branch | 82 | 82 | 83 | 82 |
| Montauk Branch | 44 | 42 | 43 | 41 |
| Port Washington Branch | 159 | 81 | 162 | 81 |
| Port Jefferson Branch | 109 | 111 | 109 | 111 |
| City Terminal Zone | 126 | 128 | 126 | 128 |
| Greenport Service | 8 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
How we measured this
- Roads: Long Island Traffic records the 511NY traffic feed (New York State DOT) about once an hour. This outlook uses only the notices present in the latest recording (Thu 10/29 11:00 a.m.). A road notice is listed when its posted 511NY schedule has an occurrence between 12:00 a.m. Saturday October 31 and 11:59 p.m. Sunday November 1. Road names, locations, lane wording and schedules are 511NY’s.
- Reading 511NY schedules: each “From [start] to [end] [dates] on [days]” line is one occurrence per listed day, starting that day; when the end time is earlier than the start time, the occurrence runs past midnight into the next morning. A Friday-night occurrence that runs past midnight therefore appears as in effect early Saturday.
- Events: UBS Arena events come from the arena’s own event calendar; events at UBS Arena and Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum also come from 511NY special-event traffic notices. A calendar event and a 511NY notice for the same venue and date are shown as one row. Event names are as the venue or 511NY lists them.
- Elmont-UBS Arena trains: Long Island Traffic counted the trips in the MTA’s published LIRR schedule that stop at Elmont-UBS Arena on each UBS Arena event day, by the MTA’s train destination, in total and in the two hours before the start time UBS Arena lists.
- LIRR planned work: Long Island Traffic read the MTA’s live LIRR alert feed as of 3:50 a.m. on October 29 (Eastern time) and kept every planned-work notice scheduled to be in effect at any time between 12:00 a.m. Saturday October 31 and 11:59 p.m. Sunday November 1. What changes, when and why are the MTA’s words.
- LIRR branch or area is the MTA route named in each notice, using the MTA’s own route names (including “City Terminal Zone” and “Greenport Service”).
- Scheduled trips: Long Island Traffic downloaded the MTA’s published LIRR schedule (GTFS feed GO202_26, service dates October 26 to February 28, 2027) and counted trips per route on Saturday October 31 and Sunday November 1, against the median of the other 17 Saturdays and Sundays in the same file.
- History: Long Island Traffic has stored every LIRR alert in the MTA feed since March 25, 2026. A weekend counts for a branch when a stored planned-work notice for that branch was scheduled to be in effect on that Saturday or Sunday; extra-service notices and changes lasting more than 14 days at a stretch are not counted.
Limitations
- Only road work posted in 511NY is listed; work announced elsewhere, or added to 511NY after the snapshot time, is not included. 511NY can also remove or change a notice at any time.
- Queens and other New York City road notices are left out unless 511NY lists a full closure of Long Island-bound (eastbound) travel.
- A 511NY special-event notice window is the period 511NY posted for the notice; it can start earlier or end later than the event and may differ from the start time the venue lists. Both are shown as published.
- Elmont-UBS Arena train counts come from the published schedule; extra event trains or skipped stops announced in MTA alerts may not be reflected in it.
- The MTA adds, changes and cancels planned work up to the last minute; the LIRR list reflects the feed as of 3:50 a.m. on October 29 (Eastern time).
- The published schedule file may not reflect every planned change; where an MTA alert and the schedule differ, the alert is the more recent MTA statement.
- The history uses the first version of each notice Long Island Traffic stored; a notice the MTA later changed or withdrew still counts.