The MTA Long Island Rail Road is expanding Train Time – a digital service that provides real-time train arrival status to customers – to its West Hempstead Branch beginning Monday, April 16.

West Hempstead Branch customers using mobile devices or personal computers will be able to use the service by going to http://mta.info/lirr/TrainTime. To use the service, a customer enters his or her origin and destination, and Train Time will then provide upcoming departure times and indications showing whether each train is running on time or, if late, by how many minutes. Train Time also displays scheduled arrival time at the destination station, track assignments at most origin stations, and a chance to click for a list of each upcoming train’s intermediate steps.

Train times are shown in terms of number of minutes late. In keeping with U.S. industry-wide railroad standards for on-time performance, trains arriving within 5 minutes and 59 seconds of their scheduled time are listed as being on time.

The LIRR launched its initial Train Time pilot program on the Port Washington Branch in December 2011.

LIRR Train Time is the latest in a series of initiatives the MTA has undertaken to increase the availability of digital service information. Other recent advances include subway countdown clocks, real-time bus tracking via MTA Bus Time, a competition to encourage app development, a major overhaul to the MTA website, digital screens that provide service status information, release of machine readable service and performance data on the MTA’s website and more.