East End riders say the line is 'forgotten'

Wrapped to the eyes in scarves, hats and hoods, the half-dozen commuters stood against a brick wall of the shuttered Riverhead rail station Thursday morning when the dreaded announcement came: Snowdrifts from Greenport to Ronkonkoma once again had canceled rail service to this distant outpost.

For the few dozen daily riders who take this line to stations as near as Medford and as far as Rutherford, N.J., the announcement was the latest in a series of blows they say are the result of depending on the LIRR's "forgotten line."

Service is limited even on good days. Weekend trains to Greenport were eliminated last fall. And the diesel trains that normally serve East End stations are redeployed in Nassau and western Suffolk during major snowstorms, leaving East Enders without a ride.

Diesel trains fare better in snow than electric trains, which require contact with the third rail.

"It's the forgotten line," said Michelle Perry of Flanders, "because if there's any problems it's going to be on this line."

Railroad officials say it's a question of resources. When a storm hits, the LIRR must use its limited number of diesel trains - 20 percent of the fleet - to serve the greatest number of people.

The line from Ronkonkoma to Greenport serves 40 people a day.

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

"It's not that they are forgotten," said Mitchell Pally of Stony Brook, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member who represents Suffolk County. "They just happen to live in a difficult place of the moment."

But there is hope on the horizon, Pally said, for more frequent - and reliable - service.

The railroad is looking into using a "scoot" train - a lighter, smaller diesel that would provide more cost-effective service on the system's diesel lines, he and other railroad officials said Thursday.

"We want to find ways to better serve the East End," LIRR spokesman Joe Calderone said, noting a recent schedule change allowing jurors to arrive in Riverhead in time for court.

The LIRR pre-emptively moved diesel trains west before the storm hit Tuesday night, and canceled Wednesday service between Ronkonkoma and Greenport. Officials expected to restore normal service Thursday, but shifting snowdrifts foiled those plans, Calderone said.

A patrol train, sent ahead to ensure the track was clear, got stuck in a snowbank, disrupting morning service. Service was restored before the evening rush hour. At 7 p.m., Ronkonkoma was the only branch listed with delays.

With Sophia Chang