Off-peak LIRR ridership hit record in June, while on-time performance drops
The New York Knicks' championship run, including the June 18 parade, helped the LIRR set an off-peak ridership record last month. Credit: Newsday/Ted Phillips
The Long Island Rail Road carried more nonrush-hour riders in June than in any month on record, boosted by major sporting events including the Knicks' NBA championship run and the U.S. Open Golf Championship in Southampton, according to new LIRR figures.
While celebrating last month’s ridership surge, railroad officials also acknowledged a dip in on-time performance through the first half of 2026.
At a meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board’s railroad committee Monday, LIRR president Rob Free said the 7.9 million customers in June marked the first month since the COVID-19 pandemic that the railroad carried more riders compared with 2019, when ridership was at its peak.
And riders traveling outside the weekday rush hours reached 5 million in June, "the highest non-commutation ridership in the history of the railroad since we’ve been keeping track," Free said. "This is truly remarkable."
Other LIRR metrics halfway through 2026 were less encouraging. After setting a non-pandemic record for punctuality last year, LIRR on-time performance fell in each of the first six months of this year, as compared with the same months in 2025, according to railroad data.
At 94.7%, the LIRR’s monthly average on-time performance through June is still above the agency’s goal of 94%, but below the 96.6% average set in the first half of 2025.
In February and May, the LIRR failed to reach its monthly on-time goal, in part because of winter storms and Amtrak-related service disruptions near Penn Station, said Paul Dietlin, LIRR senior vice president of operations.
The LIRR considers a train on time if it arrives at its final destination less than 6 minutes after its scheduled time.
The LIRR’s increased efforts to operate trains on time at Jamaica station, its biggest transfer point, also saw mixed results through the first half of the year. The 64.6% of trains on time at Jamaica during the morning peak period was slightly better than the 62.3% in the first six months of 2025. But during the evening peak period, only 65.9% of trains operated on time at Jamaica — lower than the 69% in the first half of last year.
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.
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