Officials: Electrify LIRR Line From Huntington To Port Jefferson

Local leaders want the Long Island Rail Road service line from Huntington Station to Port Jefferson Station to be electrified.

Town of Huntington Supervisor Chad Lupinacci joined Brookhaven Supervisor Edward P. Romaine and Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim in expressing his support for a feasibility study on the benefits of a potential electric line.

Lupinacci said residents, businesses and the local economy would benefit from an electrified rail. “In addition to the boon to our local economy, the switch from diesel trains to electrified rails would be a significant improvement for our local environment and air quality,” he said in a press release.

In a letter to NYS Legislature’s Long Island Delegation, Lupinacci, Romaine and Wehrheim expressed their support for New York State to invest in a feasibility study of a possible electric line. They said the North Shore of Long Island is long overdue for a major transportation capital project.

“The Port Jefferson and Huntington branch lines have the most riders (e.g., 18.7 million) of any line in the LIRR service territory…” officials wrote in the letter. “However, the tracks east of Huntington are not electrified and use diesel trains, which are slower and emit harmful toxins into the atmosphere.”

Business and civic leaders from the North Shore Business Alliance are also in support of this feasibility study, the letter says.

Do you support an electric line? Sound off below.

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