May 23, 2026 NEW YORK, NY The Hamptons are officially open for business, and against all odds, you won’t have to spend your Memorial Day weekend trapped in bumper-to-bumper nightmare traffic on the Long Island Expressway.

In a dramatic, down-to-the-wire twist, the MTA narrowly averted a devastating transit strike this week, clearing the tracks just in time to launch its crown jewel of summer travel: The Cannonball express.

Here is everything you need to know about the high-speed escape to the East End, plus the massive beach transit upgrades hitting the five boroughs this weekend.

The 90-Minute Miracle: Skipping the Traffic to the Hamptons

For anyone who has ever endured the grueling crawl out to the East End on a Friday afternoon, the return of the Cannonball is nothing short of a saving grace.

This legendary express service does the unthinkable: it completely skips every single stop between Penn Station and Westhampton. ### The Clock is Ticking: Schedule & Speed If you are looking to trade the concrete jungle for the coastline, here is how fast you can get there:

• Thursday Departures: Leaves Penn Station at 4:07 p.m. and gets you to Westhampton in a blistering 92 minutes.

• Friday Departures: Leaves at 4:07 p.m., clocking in at 96 minutes.

After making its first blissfully fast stop in Westhampton, the train continues onward to Southampton, Bridgehampton, East Hampton, and finally terminates in Montauk.

The Cost: A one-way ticket on the Cannonball will run you $33—a small price to pay to bypass hours of highway gridlock.

The service will run every Thursday and Friday throughout the summer, with a few holiday adjustments. When it’s time to face reality and head back to the city, the westbound Cannonball will depart the Hamptons on Sunday evenings (except for holiday weekends, like this one, when it will head back on Memorial Day Monday instead).

A Crisis Averted: The Strike That Almost Ruined Summer

The seamless launch of the Cannonball seemed like an impossibility just days ago. The MTA was locked in tense negotiations with five unions representing nearly half of the LIRR workforce. A three-day strike loomed large, threatening to paralyze the entire rail system right before the holiday weekend.

Luckily for beachgoers, a deal was hammered out late Monday night, saving the unofficial start of summer from absolute transit chaos.

Bonus Trains and Local Beach Upgrades

The perks don't stop with the Cannonball. The LIRR is adding extra summer firepower to its schedule. Starting Memorial Day, the weekday 5:13 p.m. train—which usually terminates at Speonk—is being extended all the way to Montauk. For the return trip, you can catch direct trains back to Manhattan from Montauk at 11:36 a.m. and 4:17 p.m.

Not heading all the way to the East End? The MTA is also supercharging its subway and bus routes to city beaches from Saturday, May 23 through Labor Day:

• The Rockaways: The Rockaway Park Shuttle is being extended to Rockaway Blvd, making the trek to the peninsula seamless.

• Jacob Riis Park: The Q35 bus is launching seasonal service directly to People’s Beach, running from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.

• Coney Island: The D, F, N, and Q trains will be flying out of Coney Island-Stillwell Av every three minutes to clear out the post-beach crowds.

• Orchard Beach: Bronx riders can take the Bx12 directly to the sand every weekend through the end of August.

Note: Holiday weekends always bring a wave of service tweaks. Before you head out the door with your cooler and sunscreen, be sure to double-check the MTA app or mta.info for the latest holiday weekend schedules.