{"id":20289,"date":"2026-06-13T09:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T09:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/20289\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T09:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T09:10:10","slug":"lirr-toots-public-transit-to-u-s-open-as-traffic-headaches-loom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/20289\/","title":{"rendered":"LIRR toots public transit to U.S. Open as traffic headaches loom"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe first train pulled into the temporary station at Shinnecock Hills on Friday, just days before the start of the U.S. Open. (Credit: Brendan Carpenter)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The Long Island Rail Road launched its Fore Train on Friday morning.<\/p>\n

With the 126th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club<\/a> set to tee off next week \u2014 and South Fork traffic expected to be its own championship-level hazard \u2014\u00a0LIRR President Robert Free boarded the Montauk Branch in Hampton Bays, trophy in hand, and rode one stop east to a temporary station built on-site at Shinnecock Hills.<\/p>\n

When the train pulled in, Mr. Free stepped onto the platform and touted public transportation as the best option for those looking to avoid the traffic nightmare.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you plan on attending this event, the best way to take is the Long Island Railroad,\u201d Mr. Free told the small pack of media members who trudged nearly one mile from a designated parking lot. \u201cYou\u2019re not standing still; you\u2019re more limited on the roadways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether golf fans take planes, trains or automobiles, or even boats, there will be a logjam around Shinnecock Hills. Some 40,000 people are expected when the championship gets into full swing Thursday.<\/p>\n

The planning effort for the temporary train station took roughly two years to finalize and implement. <\/p>\n

Eric Steimer, USGA\u00a0senior director\u00a0for U.S. Open Championships, said\u00a0the railroad has doubled\u00a0the number of trains able to take fans to the temporary station since the last tournament there in 2018. He said the platform can also accommodate two more cars,\u00a0expanding capacity from 10 cars to 12.<\/p>\n

\"\"LIRR President Robert Free was all smiles after stepping off the first train to Shinnecock Hills on Friday. (Credit: Brendan Carpenter)<\/p>\n

Nearly 170 trains will stop at the station over the course of the week, and more will be available if needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis station, in 2018, saw north of 77,000 people take the train to the championship,\u201d Mr. Steimer said. \u201cAnyone that took the train in 2018, we encourage you to take the train again in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right next to the station is another temporary structure: a pedestrian bridge\u00a0crossing Tuckahoe Road that will take fans from the platform to the championship grounds.<\/p>\n

Mr. Free noted that LIRR won\u2019t jack up prices \u2014 a veiled shot at the gouging NJTransit has been accused for ferrying World Cup fans to MetLIfe Stadium in New Jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to get people off the roads,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want people to use our service, so they have a great experience when they attend the event.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those not taking the train can either drive on traffic-choked single lane roads \u2014 probably slowly \u2014 or try another mode of transport.<\/p>\n

Peconic Bay Sunset Cruises<\/a>, for example, will\u00a0offer a \u201cwater taxi\u201d for ticket holders out of Broadwaters Cove in Cutchogue.<\/p>\n

\"\"Eric Steimer, USGA Senior Director for U.S. Open Championships, suggests people use the railroad to get to Shinnecock. (Credit: Brendan Carpenter)<\/p>\n

Shelter Island\u2019s Pridwin Hotel is also offering a \u201cwater taxi\u201d option. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a challenge to get out to the Hamptons on an everyday basis, whether the U.S. Open is here or not,\u201d Mr. Steimer said.<\/p>\n

Shari Hill, of Westhampton, took a trip out to the grounds on Friday to get some gear from the merchandise pavilion. She attended the U.S. Open the last time it was at Shinnecock in 2018, taking a public transit bus to get there.<\/p>\n

She suffered through terrible traffic and decided she wasn\u2019t doing that again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve already seen how nice it\u2019s going to look and how easy it is to get on and off,\u201d she said of the train. \u201cI\u2019ve also driven out here \u2014 like I did today \u2014 and I know the traffic is going to be unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first train pulled into the temporary station at Shinnecock Hills on Friday, just days before the start…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20290,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[8450,8451,8452,8453,3529,8454,8455,3530,1288],"class_list":["post-20289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-u-s-open-championship","tag-eric-steimer","tag-greenport","tag-long-island-railroad","tag-mattituck","tag-premium","tag-robert-free","tag-southold","tag-u-s-open-2026","tag-u-s-open-championship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20289\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}