On the weekend of November 14–15, 2026, LIRR riders face the biggest changes, not drivers. The MTA’s LIRR service alerts feed, as of 11:02 a.m. on November 12, lists 4 planned-work and planned-service notices in effect at some point between 12:00 a.m. Saturday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Buses replace trains between Babylon and Montauk, and westbound trains skip Kew Gardens and Forest Hills, according to that feed.
On the roads, 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic show 0 scheduled road work and closure notices in effect at some point during the weekend, as of the Thu 11/12 11:00 a.m. snapshot. The UBS Arena calendar lists 6 Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic! shows at 2400 Hempstead Turnpike, 3 each day.
Buses replace trains between Babylon and Montauk
According to the MTA’s LIRR alert feed, buses replace Montauk Branch trains between Babylon and Montauk. The substitution runs from 10:30 p.m. Friday, November 13, to 12:30 a.m. Sunday, November 15. The MTA lists the reason as track maintenance. The MTA feed says this is the weekend’s only notice with buses replacing trains, and it classifies 0 weekend notices as a suspension or part suspension.
The MTA’s guidance says buses will connect with regular Babylon Branch trains at Babylon, “so you may need to leave earlier than usual.” Buses will generally run in three zones, making all stops along a section of the branch and running non-stop to and from Babylon, according to the MTA. The MTA also says local travel between stops in different zones is not possible.
The MTA’s published schedule, as counted by Long Island Traffic, shows Montauk Branch trip counts that differ from a typical weekend. It lists 78 trips on Saturday, November 14, against 42 on a typical Saturday, and 45 trips on Sunday, November 15, against 41 on a typical Sunday. The same count shows Greenport Service with 8 trips each day, against 6 on a typical Saturday and 6 on a typical Sunday. Long Island Traffic’s count finds 2 branches or areas whose trip count differs from the typical weekend.
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 November 14 trips | Typical Saturday | Sunday November 15 trips | Typical Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montauk Branch | 78 | 42 | 45 | 41 |
| Greenport Service | 8 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
See Montauk Branch live status and Babylon Branch live status.
No westbound service at Kew Gardens and Forest Hills
According to the MTA’s LIRR alert feed, there is no westbound service at Kew Gardens and Forest Hills, and westbound trains from Jamaica bypass Woodside. The change runs from 10:00 p.m. Friday, November 13, to 4:00 a.m. Monday, November 16, in the City Terminal Zone. The MTA lists the reason as accessibility improvements.
The MTA says westbound trains run nonstop from Jamaica to Manhattan. It also says Port Washington Branch trains continue to stop at Woodside in both directions. Under the MTA’s guidance, the subway will allow LIRR riders to enter these stations at no cost:
- Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av [E]
- Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike [E][F]
- Forest Hills-71 Av [E][F]
- Woodside-61 St [7]
A separate longer-running change also applies at Forest Hills, according to the MTA feed. Riders must be in the first four cars of eastbound trains and the first six cars of westbound trains to exit there. The MTA lists that change as in effect until Summer 2027, also for accessibility improvements.
See Port Washington Branch live status.
Babylon Branch runs revised schedules Sunday morning
According to the MTA’s LIRR alert feed, some Babylon Branch trains run on revised schedules from 8:00 a.m. to 11:55 a.m. Sunday, November 15. The MTA lists the reason as a First Responder Drill.
The MTA’s feed also carries a notice that new timetables are in effect on all branches, with revised departure times on many off-peak trains. The MTA’s own schedule text for that notice reads “Starting Monday, November 9.” The feed lists it as in effect from 12:01 a.m. Saturday, November 14, to 11:59 p.m. Sunday, November 15. The MTA’s guidance is to check the TrainTime app or mta.info for changed trips.
LIRR planned work in effect November 14–15, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City Terminal Zone | No westbound service at Kew Gardens and Forest Hills; westbound trains from Jamaica bypass Woodside | Fri 11/13 10:00 p.m. to Mon 11/16 4:00 a.m. | Planned - Stops Skipped | Accessibility improvements |
| Montauk Branch | Buses replace trains between Babylon and Montauk | Fri 11/13 10:30 p.m. to Sun 11/15 12:30 a.m. | Planned - Substitute Buses | Track maintenance |
| 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 | New timetables are in effect on all branches, with revised departure times on many off-peak trains | Sat 11/14 12:01 a.m. to Sun 11/15 11:59 p.m. | Special Notice | Not stated |
| Babylon Branch | Some Babylon Branch trains run on revised schedules | Sun 11/15 8:00 a.m. to Sun 11/15 11:55 a.m. | Special Schedule | First Responder Drill |
For all branches, see live LIRR status.
6 Disney On Ice shows at UBS Arena
The UBS Arena calendar lists Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic! at 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 14. It lists the same three start times on Sunday, November 15. 511NY lists no special-event traffic notice window for these shows, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic.
Events that 511NY or UBS Arena list for November 14–15, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 14 | UBS Arena | Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic! | Sat 11/14 11:00 a.m. | — | UBS Arena calendar |
| November 14 | UBS Arena | Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic! | Sat 11/14 3:00 p.m. | — | UBS Arena calendar |
| November 14 | UBS Arena | Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic! | Sat 11/14 7:00 p.m. | — | UBS Arena calendar |
| November 15 | UBS Arena | Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic! | Sun 11/15 11:00 a.m. | — | UBS Arena calendar |
| November 15 | UBS Arena | Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic! | Sun 11/15 3:00 p.m. | — | UBS Arena calendar |
| November 15 | UBS Arena | Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic! | Sun 11/15 7:00 p.m. | — | UBS Arena calendar |
The MTA’s published schedule, as counted by Long Island Traffic, has 75 trains toward Hempstead, Hicksville, Huntington and Ronkonkoma stopping at Elmont-UBS Arena all day on each show day. The same count shows 86 trains toward Grand Central and Penn Station on each show day.
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, Hicksville, Huntington, Ronkonkoma in the two hours before start | Trains toward Grand Central, Penn Station in the two hours before start | Trains toward Hempstead, Hicksville, Huntington, Ronkonkoma all day | Trains toward Grand Central, Penn Station all day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic!, November 14 | 4 | 8 | 75 | 86 |
| Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic!, November 14 | 8 | 10 | 75 | 86 |
| Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic!, November 14 | 10 | 10 | 75 | 86 |
| Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic!, November 15 | 4 | 8 | 75 | 86 |
| Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic!, November 15 | 8 | 10 | 75 | 86 |
| Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic!, November 15 | 10 | 10 | 75 | 86 |
See Hempstead Branch live status.
511NY lists 0 weekend road work but 3 open-ended work zones
511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic show 0 scheduled road work and closure notices for the weekend as of Thu 11/12 11:00 a.m. The same records list 3 long-running work zones that were active at that time. Each had been in place at least 7 days, with no schedule or end time posted.
According to 511NY, those zones are on NY 347 westbound between NY 112 and NY 25 in Suffolk; on 908E (Meadowbrook St Parkway) westbound between Exit M9E and 909D in Nassau; and on 908C (Loop Parkway) in both directions in Nassau.
Long-running work zones with no posted end, per 511NY (active in 511NY at Thu 11/12 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. |
See Meadowbrook State Parkway live conditions.
Planned-work weekends by branch since March 25
Long Island Traffic’s stored MTA LIRR alert records show 19 earlier weekends with planned work in the City Terminal Zone since March 25, 2026. The same records show 18 for the Babylon Branch and 12 for the Montauk Branch.
Earlier weekends with a planned-work notice, since March 25, 2026 (weekends before this one on which Long Island Traffic recorded at least one MTA planned-work notice for the branch)
| Branch or area | Earlier weekends with planned work |
|---|---|
| Babylon Branch | 18 |
| Hempstead Branch | 14 |
| Oyster Bay Branch | 4 |
| Ronkonkoma Branch | 16 |
| Montauk Branch | 12 |
| Long Beach Branch | 3 |
| Far Rockaway Branch | 12 |
| West Hempstead Branch | 7 |
| Port Washington Branch | 5 |
| Port Jefferson Branch | 12 |
| City Terminal Zone | 19 |
| Greenport Service | 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 11/12 11:00 a.m.). A road notice is listed when its posted 511NY schedule has an occurrence between 12:00 a.m. Saturday November 14 and 11:59 p.m. Sunday November 15. 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 11:02 a.m. on November 12 (Eastern time) and kept every planned-work notice scheduled to be in effect at any time between 12:00 a.m. Saturday November 14 and 11:59 p.m. Sunday November 15. 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 GO203_26, service dates November 10 to February 28, 2027) and counted trips per route on Saturday November 14 and Sunday November 15, against the median of the other 15 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.
- 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 11:02 a.m. on November 12 (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.