LIRR officials: Storm strategy a success

The Long Island Rail Road learned from its mistakes in dealing with the region's December snowstorm, and stepped up its game in a big way during this week's near-blizzard, railroad officials and riders' advocates said Thursday.

A wide-reaching campaign to let commuters know that service could be suspended if weather conditions got too rough, combined with a concerted effort to add more trains in the afternoon, added up to a solid strategy to minimize the storm's impacts on riders, officials said.

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The strategy seemed to work, as the majority of LIRR commuters made it back to their origins to their stations before the usual evening rush hour, many taking advantage of 13 extra eastbound trains Wednesday afternoon. To keep a head count, LIRR deployed workers to Penn Station with "clickers" to count the number of commuters who arrived in the morning, and the number who departed in the afternoon.

When the storm intensified and the LIRR did see scattered delays and unscheduled cancellations late Wednesday night, the trains were largely empty, LIRR spokesman Joe Calderone said.

No figures were available Thursday on the cost of the LIRR's snow-response effort. A Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman said agencies' snow budgets are determined by average annual snowfall, and as that average has not been exceeded, the MTA is within its budget.

"Everything was fine," said Travis Greene, a civilian NYPD employee who took a late Wednesday night train from Penn Station to Far Rockaway, and encountered no problems.

"Clearly, we got the word out successfully and people heeded our advice," Calderone said. "I think it showed that when you tell customers in advance what you're going to do, that it's of great value."

LIRR Commuter Council chairwoman Maureen Michaels said the LIRR's approach to Wednesday's storm was a "significant departure" from past instances, when the railroad chose to be reactive rather proactive.

"They did a really good job," said Michael, who criticized the LIRR for not sufficiently communicating with customers during a Dec. 19-20 storm that caused widespread delays and stranded 150 passengers on one Ronkonkoma-bound train for three hours without power or working toilets.

But it was a different story this time, Michaels said. "I got the impression that they had all the right personnel in place, making decisions, and that they had planned going into the storm for what to do," she added.

Michaels said the single most effective part of the LIRR's stepped-up snow plan may have been the advance warning that service could be suspended when snow accumulation on tracks reached 10 to 13 inches or more - the height at which it could interfere with trains' contact with the electrified third rail.

The LIRR never had to suspend any service Wednesday, but Michaels said the message resonated with commuters.

"Everybody who heard that remembered it," Michaels said. "The public knew at 10 inches, things are going to get dicey. And the railroad let us know this."

Michaels said the LIRR kept riders informed of their plans throughout the day through regular e-mail alerts and station announcements.

Equally impressive were the railroad's on-the-ground operations, Michaels said. The railroad's diligence in clearing snow, protecting switches and preventing icing minimized service disruptions, she said.

Anthony Simon, general chairman of the United Transportation Union, which represents LIRR conductors, said Wednesday's storm showcased the railroad's labor force at its best.

"Yesterday [Wednesday] showed exactly what we're all about," said Simon, who is leading a rally Friday in Babylon of railroad workers opposing the MTA's planned service cuts and possible layoffs. "We take the public to and from work safely, and we take pride in that."

Those planned service cuts and layoffs are in response to an ever-widening MTA budget deficit. Some transit officials said Wednesday's storm may only have worsened the agency's financial picture.

In addition to the large overtime accrued by having crews work around the clock to keep service running, drops in ridership of more than 40 percent throughout the MTA hurt fare revenue, as did the small number of vehicles traveling through MTA toll crossings, MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan said.

With Sophia Chang