LIRR eliminates locomotives from East River tunnel

If your rush-hour train breaks down near an East River tunnel, it may take longer to get help to you than it did a week ago.

Among the Long Island Rail Road's cost-cutting measures implemented this week is elimination of a long-standing practice: the manning of a pair of locomotives in Sunnyside, Queens, near the tunnel entrances, ready to tow a disabled train at a moment's notice.

The Harold Protects, as the engines are known, had been in place for more than 20 years until being pulled on Monday. The LIRR says the move will save the agency $234,000 - the salaries of two engineers needed to man locomotives during the morning and evening rush hours.

"In better economic times, having them there available was nice," LIRR spokesman Sam Zambuto said. "But since they are seldom used for the purposes of disabled trains outside the tunnel and with the financial challenges that the MTA is facing, we are looking in all areas for cost savings. And this was a cost savings that we could achieve."

LIRR officials could not say how often the Harold Protects were used.

Other cost-cutting moves made by the LIRR have included the elimination of overnight service to Brooklyn, elimination of weekend service to West Hempstead and the shuttering of ticket windows at several stations.

Richard Poznik, a self-professed train buff, said the LIRR should have looked somewhere other than the Harold Protects for savings. Poznik, of Smithtown, who commuted for more than 30 years, remembers times when the 1,000-horsepower locomotives rescued a broken-down train on which he was traveling. Even if rarely utilized, the locomotives are invaluable, Poznik said.

SEE PHOTOSLIRR trains and commuters through the years

"If you're stuck in a place like the edge of the tunnel and something really bad happens, in hindsight [the elimination of the locomotives] shouldn't have been done," said Poznik, 69.

LIRR officials said the Harold Protects never were intended to save trains inside the East River tunnels because their diesel emissions are prohibited inside the tunnels. In situations like those, Amtrak has locomotives available to tow disabled trains.

LIRR President Helena Williams said if a train breaks down near the tunnels, locomotives can be dispatched from Long Island City or Jamaica and be there relatively quickly. She added that if the response times from those stations is too long, the LIRR can always put the Harold Protects back in their longtime homes.

"We know that we do have equipment that sometimes needs assistance, but we think there are still efficient ways in which we can provide that," Williams said. "We think that we can continue to protect service without having standing equipment and crews."

For now, the engines will be utilized in LIRR rail yards, Zambuto said.