LIRR Officials Adding Trains, Advise Riders To Use Train Time App

MINEOLA, NY — The Long Island Rail Road announced it will be adding trains to address crowding resulting from service changes, while advising commuters to monitor train capacity using its Train Time app.

Commuters took to Twitter and Facebook on Monday to blast the LIRR over crowded conditions aboard morning trains, many posting photos of the conditions showing riders standing in close proximity to each other and airing concerns about contracting the coronavirus.

To address commuter concerns, the LIRR is adding two other trains to its Ronkonkoma branch, LIRR President Phil Eng said in an interview with Patch Monday. The first, an eastbound train, will leave at 3:39 p.m. from Manhattan. The second, a westbound train, will leave at 4:50 a.m. Another train will be added to the Babylon line, as well as a few more cars to the Long Beach branch.

The LIRR will continue to monitor train capacity through its real-time Train Time app, which gauges train capacity information, and it will continue to make adjustments as needed, Eng said.

He described the crowding as “sporadic and isolated,” with Ronkonkoma’s 5 a.m. being at least one of the instances involving crowding.

The majority of trains did not experience a problem with crowding — about 77% of trains were operating at or less than 50% capacity, Eng said. There were peak trains operating less than 20% of its ridership, meaning that 80% was available, he said. There were cases where nine out of 10 trains had “ample space” and one car, “for whatever reason, was packed.”

The LIRR has been using platform ushers and other staff to guide commuters to their trains, and that with commuters using the Train Time app to plan their commute and keep themselves apprised of any changes, will help alleviate any future issues, Eng said.

“So, what we need to do is make sure that people know that they can use this app,” he said. “And we are going to use that to help us provide information that all they have to do is walk one car over, and they would have a place to sit.”

Eng advised commuters with concerns about contracting the coronavirus to use the app, and noted that the LIRR is regularly sanitized to protect against the virus.

“We have the most robust cleaning and sanitizing program that we have ever had on the railroad, and we are one of the leaders across the country with regards to sanitizing our train fleet,” he said.

The trains’ HV/AC system continually filters and refreshes air 12 times every hour and that is enhanced by the fresh air that enters the cars when the trains stop at a platform, he said.

Eng said he rides the LIRR daily, as others have throughout the course of the year, and he believes people can stay safe riding it.

“So, you can do it, if you follow the health protocols,” he said, adding, “wearing your mask properly, using hand sanitizer, and avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth until you have had a chance to properly clean your hands.”

Eng said that about 97% of commuters are wearing masks, and the mandate is enforced with the support of Metropolitan Transit Authority police.

Social media erupted early Monday morning with reports from commuters fed up with crowded conditions.

“This was the 5:46 a.m. train from Mineola to Penn,” Mineola commuter Matt Long tweeted, with a photo showing passengers crowded in the aisle. “Expect an uptick in [the coronavirus], courtesy of the LIRR.”

Long, a Local 94 operating engineer in Manhattan, said that up until Monday, he would get the 5:30 a.m. train from Mineola and there would also be a 5:37 a.m. and a 5:55 a.m. train, but now those trains are combined into the 5:46 a.m. train.

“I never stopped working and used the trains all throughout the pandemic,” he said in an email to Patch. “But, this morning’s commute was the worst I've dealt with thus far. I fully expect an uptick in positive [COVID-19] cases on Long Island shortly, courtesy of the LIRR.”

Train riders reported similar situations on trains from Long Beach, Syosset, Westbury and New Hyde Park.

U.S. Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-Long Island, Queens) called the images seen throughout social media “deeply disturbing,” and aired several concerns in a letter that he sent to Eng that included the images.

“Fewer trains mean more commuters per train, and I’ve seen deeply disturbing pictures this morning of over packed cars with barely any standing room. COVID-19 remains a serious threat and the LIRR must continue to take every precaution to stop the spread of the virus, including social distancing,” he wrote. “This is the wrong time to foster overcrowding.”