Port Washington's station has eight tracks, but two of them stop before the north end of the station. That gap has shaped the morning commute on the branch for years, and it is why the Long Island Rail Road's newest project in town is about more than new platforms.
On September 28, 2026, the MTA announced that its plan to rebuild the Port Washington station had moved into design. Newsday put the cost at $155 million. The visible upgrades will get most of the attention: new platforms, an enclosed overpass with elevators, and a new roof over the plaza. The part that could change how many trains leave Port Washington each morning is the extension of two yard tracks, and the same project names three of the station's parking lots in its scope.
A Terminal Can Only Send Out the Trains It Can Hold
Port Washington is the end of the line, so the trains running west in the morning have to be parked here first. The MTA's announcement says the yard extension will give the railroad "greater flexibility to store longer trains" at this end of the branch "without interfering with maintenance, inspections and car cleaning," and will let the LIRR "store and operate more trains out of Port Washington."
Yard space matters more on this branch than on most. In its September coverage, Newsday noted that the Port Washington branch is the only LIRR line that doesn't run through Jamaica, so its riders have fewer transfer options than riders on other lines. A rider in Port Washington can't easily switch to another branch's train when theirs is full or missing, so the trains that start here are close to the whole service.
Railroad leadership has said this publicly for years. At a 2022 press conference covered by Port Washington News, then-interim LIRR President Rinaldi said:
"The true key to the addition of future service increases is expanding track capacity at Port Washington yard."
He called the project "the bottleneck to having more service on the branch."
The Project Splits Into Two Parts
The MTA's scope covers station repairs riders will use directly and yard work that sets how many trains the railroad can run.
| What riders will see at the station | What the yard and lots get |
|---|---|
| Replacement of platforms, platform canopies and platform substructure | Extension of two yard tracks |
| Existing pedestrian overpass replaced with an enclosed overpass and new elevators | Rehabilitation of the trainmen's building |
| New station building roof and plaza canopy | Updated employee facility and parking |
| Interior and exterior building upgrades, with restrooms reconfigured and expanded | Improvements to the LIRR Yard, S. Boyles Ave and Havens Ave parking lots |
| Rebuilt ramps, curb cuts, sidewalks, ADA parking, stairs and ADA ramp | |
| LED lighting, communication systems and security cameras |
MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer said in the announcement that the station "has served Long Island for nearly 130 years." The left column brings an old building up to date. The right column is where parking comes in, since the yard work and the lot improvements are part of the same scope.
Parking Is Why It Stalled
The upgrades were first planned as part of East Side Access, the MTA project that ended with Grand Central Madison opening in 2023. Newsday reported that Port Washington elected officials and residents pushed back, partly because the plan would reduce parking at the station.
Those spaces are in heavy demand. In 2023, the Port Washington branch had the third-highest ridership of any LIRR branch, with 9.9 million customers. The commuter lots are run by the Port Washington Parking District, which the Town Board governs and whose staff run and maintain 12 surface lots. Under the Town of North Hempstead's commuter-lot rules, district residents need a valid permit from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays, and spaces go first-come, first-served. The listed permit prices are $550 a year, $60 a month and $3 a day, and you can't park until the town approves your permit account. The lots are permit-free from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. on weekdays and open on weekends, except Lot 7 on Saturdays. Parking from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. and overnight is prohibited.
When a permit gets you a chance at a space rather than a reserved one, losing any spaces affects how early people have to arrive.
Losing Grand Central Trains Changed the Debate
Grand Central Madison's opening changed the argument. In August 2024, Newsday described the branch's service since the new terminal opened in February 2023 as "checkered." Here is what happened, in order:
- At first, the LIRR alternated morning rush-hour trains between Grand Central Madison and Penn Station.
- In early November 2023, two Grand Central-bound trains, the 6:47 a.m. and the 7:19 a.m., were rerouted to Penn. For a few weeks, no train ran from Port Washington to Grand Central for more than two hours of the morning peak.
- Later that month, the LIRR agreed to send trains to Grand Central at 6:42 a.m. and 7:19 a.m.
- In July 2024, the North Hempstead Town Board approved a memorandum of understanding letting the LIRR study the yard extension.
- On September 28, 2026, the station and yard project moved into design.
Newsday's September 2026 report says town officials reconsidered their position after residents complained that there wasn't enough direct service to Penn or Grand Central. Speaking to Newsday in 2024, North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena tied the decision directly to the value of living here:
"If we don't have that express service, people might not want to pay the high prices to live in Port Washington, Manhasset and Great Neck."
She also said that without the agreement then, "we might not have another opportunity for 10 more years." In the same article, Councilmember Mariann Dalimonte of Port Washington said she was "100% behind it" if it improved train service, reliability and frequency, but was concerned about losing parking spaces. State Sen. Jack Martins said he was optimistic about the project after talking with LIRR President Rob Free.
In these accounts, the town went from opposing a plan that could cost parking to agreeing to let the LIRR study it, after complaints about service grew louder.
What Changes on Monday, and What Comes Later
The schedule won't change much yet. A new Port Washington branch timetable takes effect Monday, November 9, 2026, and runs through February 28, 2027, replacing the one in effect since September 8. Both list separate westbound services to Penn Station and Grand Central. Any added trains depend on the longer yard tracks, and those have to be designed and built first.
The funding shows how the work is phased. The preliminary design award comes from the MTA's 2020-2024 Capital Program, and the MTA expects construction to be funded through the 2025-2029 Capital Program. In 2024, Newsday reported that the next step after the memorandum was an MTA study of traffic and parking impacts. For anyone who drives to the station, the key details to watch are what happens to the S. Boyles Ave and Havens Ave lots and the yard-side spaces, since those are the lots the MTA has named.
The overpass, elevators and new canopies will be the most visible results. Whether the branch can run more trains depends on two tracks being extended to the north end of the station.
If you're weighing a commute that starts at Port Washington station, the Fran Mazer team follows changes like this yard project street by street, including which blocks are a walk to the platform and which depend on a permit and an early start. Let's Connect.
