LIRR on-time record put into perspective

Records are made to be broken - and the LIRR did.

While the Long Island Rail Road's 2010 on-time record of 92.8 percent was its worst in five years, railroad historian Dave Morrison has this word for riders:

Back in the day, that would have been considered, well, great.

In 1988, the LIRR issued a commemorative pin to all of its employees in recognition of the agency's record on-time performance the previous year.

That record? 91.6 percent.

An internal LIRR newsletter published at the time noted that the record surpassed the agency's goal of 90 percent.

The LIRR raised the bar in 1988, with an on-time goal of 91 percent.

SEE PHOTOSLIRR trains and commuters through the years

Larry Baggerly, then the railroad's operations vice president, opined in the newsletter that the LIRR "should be able to deliver a 90-plus on-time performance consistently in the future."

The LIRR's current on-time record, set in 2009, is 95.21. Its goal for 2011 is 95.1.

"Time sure changes people's perspective of the LIRR's on-time performance," Morrison said.