LIRR ‘Prepared’ To Add A.M./P.M. Trains Amid Crowding Concerns

LONG ISLAND, NY — Long Island Rail Road officials hit with a barrage of complaints Monday about service changes that resulted in crowded conditions say they are prepared to add service during the evening rush tonight and tomorrow’s morning commute.

Commuters took to social media on Monday to complain that a new schedule that went into effect on Monday featuring fewer trains led to overcrowded conditions with some passengers standing shoulder-to-shoulder on their ride to work in Manhattan.

In a statement, LIRR President Phil Eng said there was “sporadic and isolated crowding on a few trains during the morning rush,” but the agency is prepared to add service during the p.m. rush, as well as tomorrow morning “to immediately address this issue.”

“As always, we will continue to monitor ridership and make adjustments as necessary, whether that is lengthening trains or adding additional service,” he said.

The new train schedule factors in track work required to expand services, LIRR spokesman Aaron Donovan said. The new service schedule is providing 75% per pre-pandemic levels of service for only 24% of the ridership, he said, and the agency will be monitoring train usage using its Train Time app, which can show how many people are on a train in real-time and adjustments can be made to address ridership.

Eng said that the app, along with reports from personnel in the field will help the agency identify trains that need adjustments.

An exasperated Mineola commuter Matt Long was one of many commuters who complained on social media. He posted a photo of passengers crowding the aisle aboard a Manhattan-bound train to his Twitter feed and immediately had responses from other riders.

“This was the 5:46 a.m. train from Mineola to Penn. Expect an uptick in [the coronavirus], courtesy of the LIRR,” he said.

Up until Monday, Long, who is an operating engineer with Local 94, would catch the 5:30 a.m. train from Mineola and there would also be a 5:37 a.m. and a 5:55 a.m. train, but the trains have been combined into the 5:46 a.m. train.

“I never stopped working and used the trains all throughout the pandemic,” he said in an email to Patch. “But, this morning’s commute was the worst I've dealt with thus far. I fully expect an uptick in positive covid cases on Long Island shortly, courtesy of the LIRR.”

Train riders reported similar situations on trains from Long Beach, Syosset, Westbury and New Hyde Park.

A Westbury rider on the 7:03 a.m. train tweeted the train was way too crowded. “Social distancing was 18 inches, not six feet,” the person wrote.

In some photos posted to social media, masked riders can be seen crowded closer than 6 feet, veering from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for traveling on public transportation.

“Those photos are nothing compared to the 8:23 [a.m.] from Long Beach,” tweeted another commuter.

Another commuter tweeted, “[The] LIRR allowed these dangerous schedules to go through, and now who knows how many passengers will spread COVID-19.”

The office of state Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Rockville Centre) began collecting photos from riders, with the senator telling his constituents on Facebook that he empathized with them for sitting in a “packed, cramped train car.”

“We must return to the old schedule and get everyone back to work,” he wrote.

In response to Kaminsky’s post, one commuter described the 8:27 a.m. train from Rockville Centre as “absurd,” “fundamentally unsafe” and a “tremendous challenge for essential workers.”

“If the same [Metropolitan Transportation Authority] workforce is paid the same salary, including [overtime], how much does it really save to run far fewer trains and put all riders at risk?" the commuter wrote. "You have the support and are the voice of the commuters.”

Another person posted it was ridiculous that riders must “endanger” their lives to get to work, calling it “unacceptable.”

In his statement, Eng went on to laud U.S. Senate Majority Leader Schumer for his leadership in securing for the MTA another $6.5 billion in federal funding in the American Rescue Plan, which, if approved by the House of Representatives, will allow the agency “to avoid the drastic cuts to LIRR service that were being contemplated.”

“Those cuts are completely separate from this rightsizing effort. The LIRR’s capacity tracking feature is available for all customers to track capacity in real-time on the LIRR Train Time app. We thank our customers for their patience,” he said.

In the meantime, LIRR officials are advising riders to check the Train Time app to help them plan their commute.