LIRR ridership increased 16% last year, met on-time goals
The 75.5 million passengers carried by the LIRR in 2024 was about 16% more than in 2023, and about 82% of the railroad’s ridership in 2019. Credit: Craig Ruttle
The Long Island Rail Road met its 94% on-time performance goal on all its branches for the first time in recorded history last year, as its ridership continued to rebound to near pre-pandemic levels, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said Thursday.
The 75.5 million passengers carried by the LIRR in 2024 was about 16% more than in 2023, and about 82% of the railroad’s ridership in 2019, when it carried 91.1 million passengers, a modern record.
Despite having most of its pre-COVID riders back and adding many trains to its schedule with the launch of Grand Central Madison, 95.65% of LIRR trains operated on-time in 2024, the highest ever for a non-pandemic year. Carrying far fewer passengers and operating on a reduced schedule, the LIRR reported higher on-time performance numbers in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
But even in those years, the LIRR did not reach its goal for all 11 of its branches, according to the MTA. The railroad accomplished that in 2024 for the first time since it adopted its modern on-time performance standards in 1979.
The LIRR considers a train on-time if it arrives at its final destination within five minutes and 59 seconds of its scheduled time.
In an interview Thursday, MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber attributed the railroad’s improved reliability in part to the $2.5 billion, 10-mile-long Third Track through the Main Line in Nassau that opened in 2022 and related infrastructure improvements. He also credited a focus by new LIRR President Robert Free on improving reliability at Jamaica Station — the railroad’s busiest transfer point.
"That is proof, I think, of the caliber of the service," Lieber said, who noted that the improved reliability came as the railroad’s ridership grew.
But Peter Haynes, founder of the LIRR Commuters Campaign advocacy group and a former LIRR systems project specialist, said he believes the on-time numbers may have been boosted by the fact that since the opening of Grand Central Madison, trains no longer wait on connections.
"They don’t measure passenger experience. They measure equipment," Haynes said. "If a commuter misses their connection and they’re 20 or 30 minutes late, but all three trains end up on-time, is that a good thing? It gives the railroad a better number, but the commuter is still late."
MTA officials said the railroad’s improved reliability was reflected in its latest passenger survey, which was conducted over two weeks in October. Among the nearly 22,000 riders surveyed, 76% reported being satisfied overall with LIRR service, six percentage points better than when riders were last polled in the spring.
MTA officials would not provide the full findings of the survey, which will be released at a future MTA meeting.
The rebound in satisfaction followed several schedule changes made by the railroad in September to address lingering complaints from riders since the LIRR overhauled its service plan with the opening of Grand Central Madison in February 2023.
"We were hearing the customers," said Lieber, adding the schedule changes were in direct response to calls, emails and other messages sent by dissatisfied riders. "All of that, we were able to react to."
However, satisfaction remains below the 81% rating that the railroad held throughout 2022. The LIRR carried about 23 million fewer riders in 2022 than it did last year.
The Long Island Rail Road met its 94% on-time performance goal on all its branches for the first time in recorded history last year, as its ridership continued to rebound to near pre-pandemic levels, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said Thursday.
The 75.5 million passengers carried by the LIRR in 2024 was about 16% more than in 2023, and about 82% of the railroad’s ridership in 2019, when it carried 91.1 million passengers, a modern record.
Despite having most of its pre-COVID riders back and adding many trains to its schedule with the launch of Grand Central Madison, 95.65% of LIRR trains operated on-time in 2024, the highest ever for a non-pandemic year. Carrying far fewer passengers and operating on a reduced schedule, the LIRR reported higher on-time performance numbers in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
But even in those years, the LIRR did not reach its goal for all 11 of its branches, according to the MTA. The railroad accomplished that in 2024 for the first time since it adopted its modern on-time performance standards in 1979.
The LIRR considers a train on-time if it arrives at its final destination within five minutes and 59 seconds of its scheduled time.
In an interview Thursday, MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber attributed the railroad’s improved reliability in part to the $2.5 billion, 10-mile-long Third Track through the Main Line in Nassau that opened in 2022 and related infrastructure improvements. He also credited a focus by new LIRR President Robert Free on improving reliability at Jamaica Station — the railroad’s busiest transfer point.
"That is proof, I think, of the caliber of the service," Lieber said, who noted that the improved reliability came as the railroad’s ridership grew.
But Peter Haynes, founder of the LIRR Commuters Campaign advocacy group and a former LIRR systems project specialist, said he believes the on-time numbers may have been boosted by the fact that since the opening of Grand Central Madison, trains no longer wait on connections.
"They don’t measure passenger experience. They measure equipment," Haynes said. "If a commuter misses their connection and they’re 20 or 30 minutes late, but all three trains end up on-time, is that a good thing? It gives the railroad a better number, but the commuter is still late."
MTA officials said the railroad’s improved reliability was reflected in its latest passenger survey, which was conducted over two weeks in October. Among the nearly 22,000 riders surveyed, 76% reported being satisfied overall with LIRR service, six percentage points better than when riders were last polled in the spring.
MTA officials would not provide the full findings of the survey, which will be released at a future MTA meeting.
The rebound in satisfaction followed several schedule changes made by the railroad in September to address lingering complaints from riders since the LIRR overhauled its service plan with the opening of Grand Central Madison in February 2023.
"We were hearing the customers," said Lieber, adding the schedule changes were in direct response to calls, emails and other messages sent by dissatisfied riders. "All of that, we were able to react to."
However, satisfaction remains below the 81% rating that the railroad held throughout 2022. The LIRR carried about 23 million fewer riders in 2022 than it did last year.
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
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