In Transit newsletter: LIRR leader reflects on 35-year career

On Monday, I broke the news of Rob Free stepping down as president of the Long Island Rail Road later this month. Although Free and I have had several discussions over the years covering topics like LIRR ridership and overtime costs, the first lengthy conversation I can remember having with him was on a subject particularly close to my heart — "The Karate Kid."

In January 2021, Rob — then the railroad’s senior vice president of operations — gave me a tour of the LIRR’s newly expanded rail yard in Ronkonkoma. While waiting for others to join us, we somehow launched into a discourse about Netflix’s "Cobra Kai" series — a spinoff of the 1980s film franchise. As Gen-Xers, Free and I were both excited about the prospects of an expanded Miyagi-verse. It’s been a recurring subject of conversation ever since.

While Free told me he’s got no formal plans on how to spend his retirement, I hope they include getting caught up on the four-decade-long rivalry between the franchise's central characters, Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence.

Here’s some highlights of our most recent conversation Monday, which unfortunately did not include any discussion of '80s pop culture.

On his reasons for retiring now:

"You have a family. You have a private life that you want to enjoy to a certain extent. And you look at your life and even your career, and you look back at what you've accomplished. Even in this role, for the three years I've been in it, we've accomplished a hell of a lot that I'm extremely proud of. ... I always say it was probably one of my most intense years since I've been here. ... A blizzard, record cold, a strike, a work stoppage. ... You just want to make sure that there's stability. So I always kind of looked toward the end of the year, and I wanted to make sure we got through all those big events. Working together with the railroad, making sure that there was continuity here, that we were able to not only get through it, but excel at what we do. So I just felt the timing was right. ... I didn't dwell on it and think about it. But you owe it to yourself to be ready, and you owe it to the organization to be able to take that next step. ... I wanted to stay here this year to make sure the railroad was well situated."

On what his priorities were in his final year at the LIRR:

"There's a lot of things that you want to do, a lot of accomplishments that I'm extremely proud of. We achieved the highest on-time performance in recorded history outside the asterisk year of COVID. And I always want to make sure people realize that was with one of the East River tunnels out of service that we did that. Financially, I think we've done a great job of not only holding the line, but reducing overtime, especially when you factor in inflation and general age increases. ... There’s a lot of things the customers see. ... I still, to this day, get on a train, look at the lights, check the bathrooms. I bounce around to different stations. I look and make sure what's going on there. I’m always making the employees realize that the most important thing that we do is service our customers. ... So there's so many things I'm proud of. First and foremost, the employees of this incredible organization, the work that they do every day. I always say, what happens at the Long Island Rail Road is nothing short of a miracle, due to the operational limitations. ... So I couldn't be more proud of this team here."

On how his 35-year career at the LIRR, beginning as a station cleaner, influenced his presidency:

"I think there's an instant level of respect that comes with that. I understand what [employees] go through every single day. So I think that goes a long way. When you’re a leader, you don’t lead an organization. No, you lead people. And if you don't have the buy-in of your team, you have nothing. You could have the greatest ideas in the world, but if your team does not believe in you, it'll never work. And that's what you have to do first. You have to motivate your team, make them realize what you're doing, why it matters and how important it is, and make them feel that they're part of it. So I think that's something that I try to instill in our employees. And that's not to say someone can't come in from the outside and do that. ... But I think the one difference, if you're talking about me specifically, is from coming up through the ranks, them knowing that I know what they do. I know their jobs, and I know how difficult it is and what they're up against. And I try to help them and, really first and foremost — and you cannot fake this — appreciate what they do."

Did you know?

Rob Free is not the first person to climb up from an entry-level job at the LIRR to become the railroad’s president. James Dermody, who died in June, took a summer job as a ticket clerk at the Massapequa station and, over a 48-year career, rose to serve as LIRR president from 1996 to 2003.

Transportation news

• A former chief administrator in the Nassau County District Attorney's Office and his wife were killed in a Connecticut crash on Saturday.
• An educational trailer making its way through Long Island aims to spread the word about the consequences of impaired and distracted driving.
• Three people were killed in three separate crashes on Long Island on Saturday.
• Suffolk’s new on-demand bus line is like an oversized Uber.
• It's not just in your head. It's been more difficult than usual as of late to find an available bathroom on the LIRR.

Travel watch

• New LIRR fall schedules took effect Monday, making changes on all of the railroad’s branches, including earlier departure times for midday trains to accommodate planned track maintenance and station accessibility projects. More information is here.

Readers speak up

Following my story last week about LIRR bathrooms on trains and stations more frequently being out of service as of late, I heard from several commuters complaining about restroom closures at their stations. Here’s one.

I watched your report this morning on the overall bathroom situation on the Long Island Rail Road. Clearly although the segment was very well done it completely left out the deplorable situation at Atlantic Terminal. The men’s bathroom is beyond gross. The ceiling leaks and is covered with plastic bags for over a year. The smells are disgusting. The homeless use it to wash themselves and shave. I understand this is not Grand Central Madison. The LIRR clearly has its priorities and chooses how to spend the millions it receives each year. Don’t the thousands of commuters who use Atlantic Terminal deserve better?

Warren Prosky, Hewlett

Do you have trouble finding a working bathroom at your LIRR station or on your train? Let us know at transit@newsday.com.

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.