LIRR Restores Forest Hills, Kew Gardens Services Amid Local Complaints

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — The Long Island Railroad has restored early-morning train service and late-afternoon service at stations in Kew Gardens and Forest Hills amid mounting complaints from residents, lawmakers confirmed.

LIRR added a train departing Kew Gardens at 6:05 a.m., arriving at Penn Station at 6:20 a.m., and a train departing Penn Station at 4:04 p.m., arriving at Forest Hills at 4:18 p.m.

In February, LIRR re-routed service between Queens and Penn Station to the newly opened Grand Central Station terminal.

But the changes also led to cuts in services, including the early-morning train service from Kew Gardens to Penn Station and the late-afternoon service from Penn Station to Forest Hills.

The changes were making residents add about 20 to 40 minutes to their commutes as they took alternative routes, such as the MTA’s E/F lines at Union Turnpike on Queens Boulevard.

Four Central Queens lawmakers – Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, Council Member Lynn Schulman, Representative Grace Meng, and Senator Leroy Comrie – sent a letter to LIRR and MTA in late February asking them to review the changes across the borough and amend the early-morning and late-afternoon services.

“These restorations in service will relieve huge burdens on commuters, and we’re hopeful that additional restorations will follow,” said Hevesi.