LIRR: Anticipating normal evening rush after storm

Despite the heaviest of the snowfall coming overnight, the Long Island Rail Road made it through the Thursday morning rush hour without any major service disruptions and it anticipates a normal evening commute, an LIRR spokesman said.

The railroad reported delays of between 10 and 15 minutes during a portion of the morning rush on the Ronkonkoma Branch and “isolated delays on other branches as a result of winter weather conditions,” LIRR spokesman Aaron Donovan said.

Shortly after 9 a.m., the LIRR said it was operating on or close to schedule on all its lines.

The railroad overnight had warned riders to be prepared to “experience some delays due to the residual effects of the storm,” the LIRR said.

With more than a foot of snow falling on parts of Long Island, LIRR personnel worked “through the night, doing everything possible” to clear the rails, the railroad said.

Amtrak said Thursday that it would restore regular service on its Northeast Corridor on Friday after operating on a modified schedule Wednesday and Thursday because of the storm.

Those hitting the roads — many of them snow-covered — were urged to take it slow and be patient.

“This storm has got to be the worst that we’ve seen this month,” Babylon Supervisor Rich Schaffer told News 12 Long Island.

The Island’s been hit with four nor’easters in three weeks.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said Thursday morning that main roads were passable but there was still a lot of work to do on side roads. He advised motorists to “use extreme caution.”

Acting Suffolk County Police Commissioner Stuart Cameron said there had been 172 accidents during the past 24 hours but he said they involved a relatively low 17 injuries.

Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said that as of about 8:30 a.m. Thursday there had been about 1,200 calls to police with 127 involving motor vehicle accidents. He said three summonses had been issued to private snow removal companies for pushing snow into streets, in violation of a county ordinance.

Cameron advised motorists to take extra time to clean all of the snow off their cars, saying that allowing snow to remain on the roofs of cars could result in it suddenly sliding down onto the front window and blocking the driver’s vision.

Meanwhile, the Nassau Inter-County Express, or NICE Bus, was battling back Thursday from the storm, which caused it to suspend service on the North Shore during the early morning hours.

Although NICE had restored at least partial service on most routes later in the morning, it warned riders to expect delays, as some buses had been stuck in the snow and some roads were “impassable.”

NICE also suspended service on its popular n4X and n6X express lines and directed riders to use the local routes.

“As more roadways are plowed, we hope to return to normal service by the afternoon,” NICE told its customers in a statement.

Suffolk County Transit similarly told customers to “expect delays systemwide” on Thursday, after the agency restored service, which was suspended all day Wednesday.

Nassau Inter-County Express bus service said road conditions were improving so it restarted service to Great Neck and Port Washington but service had been suspended on the N21 and N78.

“Expect systemwide delays and extra time for your trip this morning,” NICE said on its website.

On the water, Bridgeport & Port Jefferson ferry service that had been canceled Wednesday resumed on Thursday morning.

A spokeswoman for Cross Sound Ferry said shortly after 6 a.m. there had been no cancellations Thursday.

In the air, by Thursday afternoon, both New York City airports were continuing to report flight cancellations.

At Kennedy Airport, approximately 590 flights had been canceled due to the nor’easter, according to the Port Authority.

Things appeared better at LaGuardia, where officials said nearly 90 percent of Thursday’s flights were scheduled to operate, although with disruptions, according to a Port Authority website.

But travel conditions began returning to normal as the day progressed.

Debris that had hung from an overpass over North Conduit Avenue, blocking a key approach to Kennedy Airport for travelers from Nassau County and snarling the morning commute at 142nd Street, had been cleared as of 10:30 a.m.

At Long Island MacArthur Airport, nary a flight came in or out Wednesday, save for a few corporate jets, even though little snow accumulation had been reported as of 6 p.m., said Shelley LaRose-Arken, airport commissioner. Cancellations at airports elsewhere on the East Coast were the cause of the inactivity, she said.

Twelve hours later it was a different story at the airport: More than a foot of snow had fallen.

Airlines have already canceled multiple flights out of MacArthur on Thursday, according to the airport’s website.

With Mark Morales, Craig Schneider, Robert Brodsky, Martin C. Evans, Patricia Kitchen, Víctor Manuel Ramos and Rachelle Blidner

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com,lisa.irizarry@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.