LIRR numbers reveal busiest branch, where most tickets are sold

Ronkonkoma, Hicksville, Babylon and Huntington top the LIRR's list of busiest stations and train lines in what has been a year of "strong recovery" for the railroad, according to a snapshot of ridership released this week by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The MTA released Long Island Rail Road ridership numbers and tickets sold from January through November, not including sales from Penn Station, Grand Central Madison and Jamaica stations.

Among the highlights:

• The Huntington / Port Jefferson branch was the busiest for ridership with 10.8 million trips this year through November.
• The Ronkonkoma station sold the most off-peak tickets, 656,000, for the year through November.
• The Hicksville station sold the most monthly tickets, 23,000.
•  The branch with the most monthly tickets sold was Babylon, with 120,000.
• Daily ridership reached more than 227,000 passengers in May, setting a record since March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. LIRR ridership has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels of nearly 250,000 daily passengers.
• The station with the most city tickets sold was Bayside, Queens, with 242,000.

“The LIRR’s strong recovery in 2023 can be credited to the addition of a major hub in Midtown and a third track on the Main Line, which coincided with a historic 41% increase in service,” said MTA spokesman Michael Cortez.

The added service and improved reliability have helped the railroad record post-pandemic ridership records, Cortez said.

Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, said the latest ridership numbers show commuters are coming back to the LIRR and also want options to select tickets to save on peak fares.

“We’re seeing more people back on board, which is a great sign, and using different types of tickets,” Daglian said. “Hopefully the MTA will increase the flexibility of ticket types with more options for when people travel and what options are being offered.”

Daglian lauded the MTA for adjusting schedules with the opening of Grand Central Madison and urged further discounts as the OMNY ticket system is launched on the LIRR.

She said ridership also should improve as Manhattan implements congestion pricing, but said the MTA will have to continue to upgrade service as an incentive to take the train rather than drive into the city.

"Congestion pricing is designed to get people out of their cars and onto transit and there needs to be good service first, which is a cornerstone the MTA is doing, and it’s key that trend continues,” she said.

The MTA releases its more detailed annual ridership report in February.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.