New LIRR App Feature Will Help Commuters Avoid Crowds

NEW YORK — The Long Island Rail Road has launched a major update to its TrainTime app to help commuters follow social distancing guidelines as they head back to work.

The revamped app will now show how crowded each car is before a train pulls into the station, so commuters can see where they should stand on the platform.

The app will mark cars as green, yellow, orange or red based on estimates of how many seats are taken and use location tracking to tell users whether they should move up or down the platform to board the car with the most room.

"Prior to the pandemic, we were faced with record ridership and knew we needed innovative ways to manage crowding on our trains," LIRR President Phil Eng said in a news conference Tuesday. "Now, as we strive to bring back New York's economy, this information is more vital than ever."

The updated app will also offer push notifications for track assignments at Penn Station, Atlantic Terminal and Jamaica Station, plus station-specific alerts about delays and construction.

It is available in Spanish and Chinese.

Planning your LIRR trip just got easier!

Introducing the new LIRR TrainTime app. Now including real time capacity and more! pic.twitter.com/Qd6ohD6UrT
— LIRR. YouMustWearaFaceCoveringonTrains (@LIRR) June 16, 2020

Depending on the model of the train, the app calculates capacity using either the weight of each train car or a system of infrared sensors that count passengers as they board and leave the train.

The updated app, which has been in the works for a year, was built in-house by LIRR developers and staff.

"It’s our responsibility as a railroad to rise to this occasion and this app is evidence of how we’re thinking outside-the-box to do just that," Eng said.

About 70,000 riders already use the TrainTime app, according to the agency.

We are the first rail agency in North America to provide real time capacity information to our customers. Now you can see where to stand on the platform to find the car with the most room. Plus, find which car you need to be in to exit at your destination. pic.twitter.com/ovxOntTYyP
— LIRR. YouMustWearaFaceCoveringonTrains (@LIRR) June 16, 2020