Smooth LIRR commute after weekend upgrade

After a weekend of closures for a major signal and switching upgrade on its Babylon and Montauk branches, the Long Island Rail Road reported a smooth morning commute Monday, a railroad spokeswoman said.

"It looks like everything went fine," spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said shortly before 9 a.m., after roughly 36 westbound trains had completed their morning treks.

The $23-million upgrade caused disruptions on the branch during the weekend as buses replaced trains between Freeport and Babylon, so workers could complete testing and also clean up scrap and debris from right-of-way areas along the track.

Spokesman Joe Calderone said Friday the LIRR anticipated a return to normal for Monday's commute, calling the improvement a "major signal upgrade."

To avoid weekend shuttle bus service, customers had to use alternate branches, such as the LIRR's Ronkonkoma line. The LIRR also put three extra westbound trains on the Ronkonkoma line Saturday.

The closures allowed more than 400 tests of a new microprocessor-based switching and signal system between Wantagh and Amityville. Workers had in advance laid out 15 miles of fiber-optic and copper signal cable and already conducted 1,000 pretests, Calderone said.

The railroad also used this weekend's service disruption to do a cleanup alongside the tracks near the Babylon station. Around 125,148 pounds of scrap steel, 32 cubic yards of debris and 500 discarded railroad ties were removed.

SEE PHOTOSLIRR trains and commuters through the years