LIRR: More trains on time January-March

More Long Island Rail Road trains operated on time from January to March than in the first quarter of any previous year, LIRR officials said Monday.

In the first three months of this year, 96.17 percent of all LIRR trains arrived on time, according to the railroad. Each of the three months saw systemwide on-time performance of at least 96 percent.

The LIRR's previous record of 95.4 percent was set in the first quarter of 2010.

In 16 different rush-hour periods during those three months, 100 percent of trains made it to their destinations on time, LIRR officials said.

LIRR president Helena Williams acknowledged that the unseasonably warm winter, which saw very little snow, contributed to the railroad's punctuality.

But the LIRR would not have achieved the record on-time numbers "without a concerted effort from our operating and front line employees," she said.

Williams said a new strategy to closely analyze and address causes of frequent delays has paid off.

SEE PHOTOSLIRR trains and commuters through the years

Ira Greenberg, of the LIRR Commuter Council, commended railroad employees for working to keep trains running on time. But he also noted that some trains remain frequently late, especially those on the Huntington and Port Jefferson lines.

"If you're riding those trains, it's a completely different railroad," Greenberg said.

The LIRR also reported its seventh consecutive month of ridership growth in March. The increase comes after a steady decline in riders that began with the economic collapse in 2008 and continued for nearly three years.