LIRR to restore Ronkonkoma line service

The Long Island Rail Road will restore full service to the Ronkonkoma branch Thursday for the morning rush, bringing the system back to normal after a complete shutdown for Tropical Storm Irene.

LIRR service from Ronkonkoma to Greenport had been suspended since all of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's commuter railroads, subways and buses were halted Saturday in anticipation of the storm, which flooded rail yards, blew trees onto tracks and caused "catastrophic damage" to Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis line.

LIRR crews Wednesday completed checks along the eastern stretch of the Ronkonkoma branch, ensuring that crossing gates had power and the signal system was operational before running a test train along the length of the line, railroad spokesman Sam Zambuto said.

The first westbound train from Greenport will leave at 5:30 this morning; the first eastbound train from Penn Station to Greenport will depart at 9:14 a.m.

Because of power outages across Long Island, ticket machines and audio/visual announcement systems were not working in some stations. The railroad said customers at those stations would not be charged the higher onboard fare for tickets purchased on the train.

LIRR president Helena Williams thanked riders for their patience.

"We are delighted to be able to provide full service on all of our branches in time for customers who are traveling for the Labor Day weekend," she said in a statement. "We know how important our service is to the local economy and to our customers' travel plans."

Meanwhile, MTA chief Jay Walder invoked emergency powers to rebuild Metro-North's devastated Port Jervis line as quickly as possible. The project will take months, the agency said.

"There are sections of track literally suspended in the air, and in many places we will have to build a new railroad from scratch, from the foundation to the tracks to the signals," Walder said in a statement.

The LIRR Wednesday morning restored full service on the Long Beach and Port Jefferson branches, and Wednesday evening resumed service on the Montauk branch.