LIRR's $6B plan: Bridge repairs, accessible Mets' station, and Yaphank electrification study

The $6 billion in Long Island Rail Road upgrades proposed in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority new five-year capital program will let wheelchair users take a train to catch a Mets game, crumbling rail bridges to get repaired, and commuters to never again have to sit in a train with wood-paneled walls, MTA officials said.

Though in some way less ambitious than past capital budgets, which funded projects like the Third Track in Nassau County and the construction of Grand Central Madison, proponents say the MTA’s 2025-2029 plan will deliver meaningful improvements for the LIRR’s 260,000 daily riders, like station upgrades, new train car purchases, and the replacement of miles of signals. It also takes early steps toward more transformational changes in the future, like further electrification in the railroad’s "diesel territory" in Suffolk.

The projects are a relatively small slice of a $68.4 billion spending plan released by the MTA this week, and will be put up for a vote by the transit authority’s board on Wednesday. After that comes the arduous process of having the plan approved, and funded, by the state.

Here’s a closer look at what’s in store for the LIRR in the MTA’s latest capital plan.

New trains

Among the planned investments most welcomed by LIRR commuters is the purchase of new train cars that will allow the railroad to finally junk its fleet of M3 electric cars that first rolled out in the mid-1980s. The LIRR had planned to retire the relics years ago, but have needed them to flesh out the increased service levels that came with the opening of Grand Central Madison last year.

Beyond just looking dated, the M3 cars — recognizable by their faux-wood walls and seats held together by duct tape — are far less reliable than newer trains, stats show. The M3s travel, on average, about 40,000 miles before breaking down, as compared to the LIRR’s newest trains, the M9s, which go about 400,000 miles before failing.

"It’s a challenge, because these old trains have been in existence for so long," said Anthony Simon, who heads the union representing LIRR conductors.

The LIRR plans to buy 160 new "M9A" cars — enough to replace all 100 M3s still in service, and grow the size of the railroad’s current fleet, which has been stretched thin with the boost in service that came with the addition of Grand Central Madison.

Gerard Bringmann, chairman of the LIRR Commuter Council, said the planned purchase of 60 more cars than are needed to replace the M3s was a "pleasant surprise."

"I think it gives the railroad a lot more flexibility, and it’s going to make things a lot more comfortable for the riders," Bringmann said.

The LIRR also plans to replace some of its diesel fleet, including the "double-decker" bi-level cars that came online about 25 years ago.

Station upgrades

The LIRR will come closer to its goal of making all of its stations fully accessible, as the capital plan will bring four more stations compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act: Douglaston, Cold Spring Harbor, Bellerose and Mets-Willets Point.

"That’s going to bring us to 98% of stations (being) ADA accessible. That’s certainly the best percentage across the entire MTA system," Jamie Torres-Springer, president of MTA construction and development, said.

In particular, adding an elevator at Mets-Willets Point has long been a high priority for disability rights advocates, because of the station’s proximity to major destinations, including Citi Field, and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The station was set to get an elevator as part of a Port Authority plan to build an AirTrain linking the station to LaGuardia Airport. When Hochul killed the project last year, the responsibility to make the Northern Queens transit hub accessible returned to the MTA.

"It serves the Mets. It serves the U.S. tennis center. And it’s not accessible?" said Bringmann, who has been pushing the MTA to address the issue for more than a decade. "Something’s wrong there."

Other stations, including Port Washington, Floral Park, Patchogue, Hunterspoint Avenue, and East New York, could also be in line for upgrades under the plan. LIRR President Robert Free said in addition to major renovations, the railroad could use capital funds for smaller "day-to-day" improvements.

"These bigger projects are fantastic. But we also want to do the little things, everyday, that people see — station signage, lighting, ... bathroom component replacements," Free said.

Structural Repairs

According to the MTA, about 14% of the LIRR’s nearly 600 bridges and viaducts "are in either poor are marginal condition." The plan aims to shrink that figure by waterproofing and repainting about 45 bridges and viaducts, and more comprehensively rehabilitating or replacing 11 others.

MTA Board member Sammy Chu, of Lindenhurst, said the urgency of addressing the crumbling structures was on display when he and other board members toured the LIRR system as part of a "working group" that helped shape the capital program.

Among the stops was Valley Stream, where public officials have for years pleaded with the MTA to address the crumbling concrete and exposed rusting rebar that looms above pedestrians at the village’s elevated station. The MTA has been "patching up stuff there with paint" for years, Chu said.

"For a lot of these projects, for every dollar we’re not spending, it can cost us many more down the road," Chu said.

Also included in the plan is the "comprehensive rehabilitation" of the tunnels running under Atlantic Avenue along the LIRR’s Brooklyn line.

Future Expansion

After planning for Grand Central Madison and the Second Avenue Subway for decades, the MTA has recently turned its attention to the next major expansion of its transit network.

The Interborough Express would be the MTA’s first light rail system, stretching from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to Jackson Heights, Queens, with connections to 17 subway stations and to the LIRR’s East New York station. The capital plan would provide the first half of funding needed for the project —$2.75 billion.

The MTA would also create an $800 million pool of funding to study, and potentially begin building, other expansion projects, including expanding electrification of the LIRR’s Main Line to Yaphank.

The railroad will also consider "improvements" to the Montauk branch and to the Port Jefferson branch, which Suffolk public officials have long sought to have electrified.

"The reality is [the Port Jefferson project] is 23-miles. It’s a tremendous project," said Free, who noted that the branch includes 23 bridges and several curves. "We need to look at one of those projects and deem what’s feasible and what we can do sooner."

Marc Herbst, Suffolk County’s representative on the MTA Board, said electrifying the 11-mile stretch between Ronkonkoma and Yaphank was deemed "the easiest to get done," and particularly important given plans to relocate the LIRR’s Yaphank station to be closer to Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Everything else

The majority of the MTA’s proposed capital budget is earmarked for "state of good repair" — projects aimed at maintaining and renewing existing infrastructure.

About half the LIRR’s $6 million allotment would go to nuts-and-bolts efforts, including installing 29 miles of new signals, replacing or renewing 16 electric substations, and swapping out 175,000 old, wooden rail ties with modern ones.

Herbst said the planned upgrades may be less conspicuous than some of the bigger-ticket LIRR efforts that have been completed in the last decade, but are no less critical.

"We have had the major projects. But the needs for the commuter today is investment in the power, the switches, the things that are not sexy," Herbst said. "It’s not the megaprojects with the ribbon-cutting, but it’s necessary to maintain the system."

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

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.