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Timeline: LIRR knew about gap problem in 1970

Aug. 30, 1970. Rose Zully, 72, of Manhattan, falls into a gap at Valley Stream and sues the LIRR for $75,000 but misses a subsequent deadline to file legal papers.

1987. MTA Inspector General releases report in which gaps on the Metro-North and city subways are referred to as "potential safety hazards." The report states that warnings are not enough and instructs Metro-North to fix the gaps. LIRR says it was never told of the report.

1992. LIRR launches "Watch the Gap" safety campaign, distributing flyers and posting train decals.

Feb. 5, 1992. A Manhattan jury awards $150,000 to Arthur Thompson, then 48, who suffered an ankle fracture in 1988 when he fell up to his hip in a gap at Track 17 in Penn Station. The jury found both the LIRR and the MTA negligent.

Jan. 30, 1996. Within 90 minutes of each other, three people fall into a gap at Syosset station.

1998. LIRR's five-year strategic plan seeks to reduce payouts for customer accidents by "aggressive defense of lawsuits."

2003. Starting this year through July 2006, gap accidents were the leading cause of customer accidents.

Oct. 4, 2004. Former Rockette Sheila Rann, 67, falls into a gap at Forest Hills station. Her injuries, which are among the most serious suffered from a LIRR gap fall in recent years, leave her quadriplegic and breathing through a machine.

Aug. 5, 2006. Natalie Smead, 18, is struck and killed by a train after falling through a gap at Woodside station.

Aug. 8. Newsday takes measurements at Woodside and other stations. The largest gaps range from 11 inches at Woodside to 15 inches at Syosset.

Aug. 17. LIRR starts shifting tracks specifically to reduce gaps at various stations

September. Federal Railroad Administration, which monitors 20 commuter rails across the country, begins its first study on platform gaps.

Sept. 9. LIRR starts shifting platforms to reduce gaps.

Nov. 10. LIRR dispatches platform conductors equipped with radios to five more stations during rush hour. Previously, the practice had only existed at Syosset.

Nov. 15. LIRR announces that for the first time in nearly 20 years, it had begun distributing a customer pamphlet exclusively devoted to gap safety as part of a stepped-up educational campaign.

Jan. 19, 2007. LIRR officials reveal that about 38 percent of its platforms have problem gaps. They announce a plan to fix them by spring 2008.