LIRR: Service restored between Hicksville and Ronkonkoma
A Long Island Rail Road train headed east toward Ronkonkoma struck and killed a pedestrian at the Brentwood Road crossing near the Brentwood train station Friday, Sept. 2, 2016, at about 5:30 p.m., a MTA spokesman said. Credit: Bryan Lopez
Long Island Rail Road service has been restored on the Main Line between Hicksville and Ronkonkoma after an eastbound train struck and killed a person on the tracks in Brentwood Friday evening.
The person was struck at Brentwood Road, just west of the train station, about 5:30 p.m. by a Ronkonkoma-bound train that left Penn Station at 4:24 p.m., said Aaron Donovan, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Service in both directions was restored about 6:40 p.m., he said, but residual delays were averaging 45 minutes.
Passengers on the 4:24 train transferred to the next Ronkonkoma-bound train, while other LIRR customers were advised to take the Babylon, Montauk or Port Jefferson branches, Donovan said.
Other details of the incident were not immediately available as MTA police investigated.
The LIRR’s latest service suspension comes during a particularly busy travel day. The railroad added 10 eastbound trains out of Penn Station Friday afternoon to accommodate customers getting an early start on the Labor Day holiday weekend.
After posting their best on-time performance figures in three years for the first half of 2016, LIRR officials have acknowledged that it’s been a difficult summer for the agency—the busiest commuter railroad in North America.
On-time performance in July was the worst of any month this year. And since June, the railroad has temporarily suspended service on at least one line on 16 different occasions.
With Ellen Yan
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
