Phillip Eng To Step Down As LIRR President

LONG ISLAND, NY — Phillip Eng is resigning as president of the Long Island Rail Road.

Eng has been in charge of the commuter line since 2018.

MTA chair and chief executive officer Janno Lieber made the announcement during a Thursday afternoon news conference.

"Phil has been a really strong leader at the Long Island Rail Road," Lieber said.

Eng guided the railroad during the COVID-19 pandemic and oversaw the best on-time performance in the LIRR's history last year.

Lieber said the trains ran at 100 percent on-time in the morning drive on Wednesday and 98.5 percent in the PM drive.

"The railroad is in really sold shape to welcome back many customers as the economy comes back," Lieber said.

Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi will assume double duty as interim LIRR president, effective Feb. 28.

"We need someone who knows the MTA and we need someone who knows Grand Central, where the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North are about to be roommates," he said.

She took on her current role at Metro-North in 2018.

"I just want to thank Janno for the confidence that he's been putting in me by giving me this unbelievable opportunity and this unbelievable challenge," Rinaldi said.