LIRR riders face longer wait times

LIRR riders should brace for longer train waits starting Monday as the MTA implements its latest round of pandemic-driven service cuts.

All Long Island Rail Road’s branches will be running weekdays on “enhanced” weekend schedules, with waits between trains increasing by more than 30 minutes during some parts of the day.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials characterized the cuts as “rightsizing,” just as they did while publicly considering reductions to other mass transit services in recent months. LIRR ridership is down 76% from last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We will continue to review service levels going forward, as ridership increases from the current level of approximately 24%,” said MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan. “The current service levels will allow the LIRR to cost-effectively perform major track work projects that will enhance service for riders when they return.”

MTA officials in November threatened draconian cuts to all of New York’s mass transit systems if Congress didn’t provide more federal aid; it did in December — to the tune of $4 billion. The Senate on Saturday signed off on another relief package that will give another $6.5 billion of relief to the MTA, bringing the total COVID-19 aid from Congress to approximately $14.5 billion over the past year.

Donovan said the funding “has allowed us to avoid the kind of drastic service cuts to the LIRR that were being contemplated,” adding the cuts will allow for more construction and upgrades to tracks and stations.

Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, argued federal funding should prevent service cuts altogether. “We can’t come back as a region without transit. It’s something we’ve talked about for the last year,” said Daglian. “That’s why the feds have been so responsive and why [New York Democratic] Sen. [Chuck] Schumer has been so aggressive in getting funding for the MTA. Cutting service now is exactly the wrong message to send.”

MTA officials will also forgo a public hearing process required by the Federal Transit Administration before “carrying out a major reduction in transportation service,” which Daglian said was unacceptable.