LIRR plan aims to improve snowstorm service

To improve its handling of major snowstorms, the Long Island Rail Road Tuesday unveiled a three-point plan that includes some changes in its communications strategy and a possible upgrade of some track infrastructure.

The LIRR experienced some of the worst disruptions in its 177-year history last month when a blizzard dumped nearly 2 feet of snow in some parts of its service area. It took more than three days for the nation's largest commuter railroad to fully recover.

At a Manhattan meeting of the LIRR Commuter Council Tuesday, railroad officials released some of the findings of an internal review of the agency's response to the storm.

One measure: The LIRR will install a software patch for electronic bulletin boards at stations that will allow it to deliver more up-to-date, accurate scheduling information when operating reduced service. Several customers complained the electronic signs gave incorrect arrival information about trains that never arrived during the blizzard.

LIRR officials said the technology would enable quicker updates. Now, it takes 10 hours to load scheduling information onto the system. The fix will reduce that time to four hours.

In another move designed to address complaints about the LIRR's poor communication with customers, the railroad is moving to double - from one to two - the number of employees who deliver audio announcements onboard trains and at stations during storms.

"We did not do a good job with announcements and the AVPS [Audio Video Paging System] . . . malfunctioned," LIRR spokesman Joe Calderone said at the meeting. "We need to do a better job of communicating what limited service is."

SEE PHOTOSSnowstorms that buried LI over the past 100-plus years

Also revealed Tuesday, the LIRR is looking into an infrastructure investment to address limitations of its delicate track switching system at Jamaica.

The LIRR struggled to keep the station's antiquated network of mechanical switches from freezing over during the blizzard. The switches rely on gas-powered heaters to keep them from freezing, but high winds during the blizzard continually blew out the heaters' flames.

The LIRR has long-term plans to upgrade Jamaica's switches to more resilient electric ones, but doing so is many years away. Officials said the railroad would now explore the cost and feasibility of upgrading at least a few key switches at Jamaica.

Council members welcomed the LIRR's plans but grilled officials about whether the railroad was adequately equipped overall to manage a major snow event. Council chairwoman Maureen Michaels said the LIRR's four snowblowers covering hundreds of miles of track did not seem like enough.

"I understand that there's a financial reality here," Michaels told LIRR officials. "But you need new tools and more tools, because we live in the Northeast and we're going to have more snow."