Officials Break Ground On $2.6B LIRR Third Track Expansion

Officials broke ground on the $2.6 billion expansion of the Long Island Rail Road's Third Track, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Wednesday.

The Third Track will run 9.8 miles along the LIRR's Main Line, located between Floral Park and Hicksville.

"Since the 1940s, people talked about adding a third track and modernizing the Main Line corridor - and now we're actually doing it," Cuomo said in a press release. "These projects taken together will create smoother and more reliable service for LIRR passengers while at the same time improving public safety by eliminating dangerous grade crossings."

About 40 percent of LIRR riders pass through the Main Line. This train line is used by commuters on the Ronkonkoma and Port Jefferson branches, as well as some on the Montauk Branch. The line can affect riders throughout the LIRR system, including the Oyster Bay and Port Washington branches.

The expansion effort consists of 50 projects, including adding a third track, eliminating all seven street-level grade crossings within the project corridor, adding new power substations and parking, and modernizing track and signal infrastructure.

“This new track will lessen the congestion for the LIRR riders and allow the trains to run more effectively and on time,” Assemblyman Anthony D’Urso said in a press release.

The expansion project is expected to be substantially completed by the end of 2022.

Cuomo says the Third Track expansion effort will "boost growth for generations."

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Cuomo says the project team has engaged in an "unprecedented level of public outreach" and has entered into a "memoranda of understanding" with the communities along the Main Line Third Track. The MOUs encourage community input on project design, consideration for traffic and parking, community safety, quality of life and more.

"Today is a grandly historic day for the LIRR and the MTA," Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota said. "This project will help the railroad overcome day to day operational challenges and dramatically increase capacity, and it will unlock the railroad's potential to serve reverse peak travel and propel Long Island as an economic growth engine. It has been a wish list item for as long as the MTA has existed, and today it is clear it will become a reality."

Image via Office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo/ New York State