LIRR announces added trains; two start Monday
LIRR riders board overcrowded trains at Penn Station on the first day of systemwide MTA service cuts on Monday. Credit: Jeff Bachner
The Long Island Rail Road has added trains to its schedule after complaints that service cuts early this week led to overcrowding and prolonged trips during the coronavirus pandemic.
The trains, according to spokeswoman Kayla Shults, are:
- a 3:42 p.m. weekday train from Penn Station, stopping at Jamaica (4:04 p.m.), Rockville Centre, then all the local stops to Babylon started Friday;
- beginning Monday; a 4:50 a.m. weekday train from Babylon, making all local stops to Rockville Centre, with a stop at Jamaica (5:44 a.m.) and Penn Station (arriving at 6:06 a.m.);
- also beginning Monday, the 4:44 a.m. train from Port Jefferson is being extended to Penn Station (arriving 6:34 a.m.), — a one-seat ride to Manhattan, without needing to change at Jamaica Three cars will be added, making this an eight-car train.
An LIRR train entering Jamaica station. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
The cuts by the LIRR’s parent agency, the state-controlled Metropolitan Transportation Authority, aimed at budget savings had caused widespread outrage when they took effect on Monday. The LIRR has said it would go back to its previous schedule on March 29.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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