In Transit newsletter: LIRR upgrade should speed trips through Jamaica

A big change at Jamaica is among several shake-ups at the Long Island Rail Road — some of which commuters may have already noticed and others that are less obvious.

Here are some updates on what's going on at the LIRR, as revealed at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's monthly railroad committee meeting Monday:

• Earlier this month, LIRR crews completed a three-year-long, $168 million construction project at Jamaica’s busy Hall Interlocking switching location that will allow for faster and more direct routes through Jamaica, doing away with conflicts that come from trains being in each other’s way. The work entailed constructing a 280-foot bridge over the railroad’s Brooklyn branch at 150th Street in Jamaica. MTA senior vice president Anthony Tufano said that 90 trains a day are already using the new route, "getting us closer to eliminating that Jamaica crawl," referring to the need for trains to significantly slow down while moving through the busy junction.
• LIRR officials outlined several measures they're taking to boost efficiency and productivity. While some seem innocuous enough, like replacing 350-page operating manuals for conductors with digital versions for a savings of $115,000 in annual printing costs, others are more noticeable. They include an initiative to make sure conductors digitally scan electronic tickets, rather than just visually inspect them. Danielle Suh, senior manager of strategic priorities for the MTA, said the scans allow the LIRR to gather ridership data that can inform service planning efforts, like how many cars a train should have and what stops it should make. Scanning the tickets also allows the LIRR to automatically penalize riders with an $8 surcharge for late activations. Conductors are now scanning about 70% of e-tickets, officials said.
• The LIRR is also looking for efficiencies in staffing practices, including by shifting some rail inspections from overnights to daytime hours to minimize the need for overtime, examining whether some crafts can get by without round-the-clock staffing and using scheduling tools "to balance conductor availability and overtime while supporting employee well-being," according to published materials. The changes received some pushback from the LIRR’s labor representative on the MTA board, Chris Leathers, who suggested union leaders weren’t consulted. "There are things that are added on to the workforce’s plate, and it would be good if you would find out what would work for us," he said.
• The LIRR’s ridership continues to soar, in September reaching 7.7 million passengers — more, even, than in September 2019, before COVID-19 decimated public transportation demand. It’s the second month this year that the railroad has surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
• The LIRR has finished the installation of 214 new ticket vending machines at stations. The machines include several new features, including the abilities to scan a barcode on a previously used ticket to pull up a similar purchase and to dispense $5 and $10 bills. The railroad is working on adding a function that will allow riders to split a purchase across two forms of payment (e.g., cash and a credit card, or two different cards).
• LIRR chief of staff Hector Garcia, whom many Long Islanders — and, particularly, Long Island politicians — know as the public face of the LIRR, is leaving the railroad at the end of this week. Garcia began at the railroad more than 35 years ago as a station cleaner and climbed up the management ranks while going to college at night. In recent years, he’s been the LIRR’s go-to man for all public affairs issues, whether it meant gathering support for the once-controversial Third Track megaproject in Nassau County or visiting homeowners complaining about trains idling near their backyards. Marc Herbst, the Suffolk County representative on the MTA board, called the soft-spoken Garcia the LIRR’s resident "diplomat" and "the perfect representative for this organization."

Transportation news

The LIRR didn’t follow through with punishments for several disciplined workers, letting some return to work before their suspensions had been fully served and not collecting the full amount of fines on others, according to an MTA watchdog.

With its contract about to expire, the LIRR’s freight rail provider for the last 30 years is promising major environmental upgrades to its fleet of locomotives.

One popular mode of transportation in Manhattan is going away, as New York City officials recently voted to outlaw horse-drawn carriages.

A distracted FedEx truck driver that killed a former All-American track star from Baldwin and his two children was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Nassau County may be on the hook for $70 million for ignoring a dangerous Elmont intersection where two teenage girls were severely injured.

Suffolk drivers have one fewer place to go when their tire tread is wearing thin.

A round-trip ticket from Long Island to a Florida beach destination for $132? Carissa Kellman found that and other great Long Island MacArthur Airport deals.

Travel watch

The JFK AirTrain will be suspended tonight and tomorrow night from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. the following morning between Howard Beach, Lefferts Boulevard, Federal Circle and all airline terminals. Free shuttle buses will provide alternate service.

The end of daylight saving time this weekend will impact the LIRR’s overnight schedule Saturday into Sunday. For updates check here.

The exit 26 ramp from the westbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to Hamilton Avenue/Hugh L. Carey Tunnel will be closed from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Thursday this week, and again from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. from Monday through Thursday next week for bridge replacement work.

Did you know?

Halloween is one of the deadliest days of the year for pedestrians, especially children, according to the Children’s Safety Network, which said, "On average, over two times as many child pedestrians die on Halloween compared to other days." So keep an eye out for that tiny, jaywalking Spider-Man or KPop Demon Hunter when driving around this Saturday. 

How do you ensure your little ones stay safe when crossing the street? Let us know at transit@newsday.com. 

Happy Halloween!

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

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.