LIRR's full rush-hour service returns
A trespasser on the Long Island Rail Road tracks at the Massapequa station was struck and killed by a train, according to an MTA spokeswoman and Nassau County Police. Credit: Kevin P Coughlin
Full rush-hour Long Island Rail Road service returns Monday, with the morning commute to be the first on a regular schedule since superstorm Sandy struck six weeks ago, state officials said Saturday.
"This was the last hurdle," said LIRR spokesman Aaron Donovan, predicting "smooth sailing" in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
LIRR president Helena Williams last month urged Amtrak to fix the tunnel signal systems before the year's end. Amtrak, beating its own estimates by more than a month, had promised the work would be done by mid-January.
The LIRR has "been working closely with Amtrak to complete the work and find creative solutions to restore LIRR service as soon as possible," Williams said Saturday in a statement.
Amtrak officials could not be reached for comment.
"Restoring full LIRR rush-hour service will provide relief to those customers that endured crowded conditions during peak periods due to the loss of tunnel capacity from the flooding effects of Sandy," Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement.
Off-peak LIRR service continues to operate on a regular schedule, officials said.
Jor'Dynn Duncan's mother to sue Suffolk ... Manhattan building unstable, evacuated ... Riverhead postpones Alive on 25 ... America 250: Neighbor vs. Neighbor
Jor'Dynn Duncan's mother to sue Suffolk ... Manhattan building unstable, evacuated ... Riverhead postpones Alive on 25 ... America 250: Neighbor vs. Neighbor
