LIRR leaf-melting laser to improve rides, protect trains

The Long Island Rail Road is getting a tool to make pesky falling leaves just melt away.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board Wednesday green lit a special “laser train” that will blast away slimy fallen leaves.

The hope is that the mechanism will eliminate “slipslide,” which occurs when train wheels hit a build up of pectin — a substance made from crushed leaves.

The slippery pectin can put flat spots on the wheels so they end up sliding along the rails — which tends to trigger the auto brake, officials said.

“We had so many trees last year that delayed our trains,” Long Island Rail Road President Phil Eng said.

The LIRR had to fix 3,390 wheel sets last fall and winter because of leaf residue.

The “laser train” will ride the rails and blast them clean, according to the LIRR’s plan.

Laser Tribology, an Amsterdam company, got the $370,000 contract to design and build a leaf-zapping train to test, according to the MTA.

As an added precaution, the LIRR cut tree branches and other vegetation across 117 miles of track ahead of the leaf-peeping season. Management also doubled the water pressure on two special trains that blasts grime off the tracks.