The last train to Huntington
Passengers exit the final train to Huntington shortly after 1 a.m. on Saturday. Credit: Thomas Hengge
"This is the last train of the night," an intercom announcement bellowed at Jamaica Station for trains to Ronkonkoma and Huntington, not long after LIRR workers went on strike just past midnight.
Dozens of confused passengers had scrambled onto what they believed was the final train of the night at Penn Station, an 11:37 headed to Jamaica. (Another eventually left Penn at 1:30 a.m.)
At Jamaica, weary passengers waited for the last train to Huntington to arrive shortly before 12:30; others caught their breath after frantically trying to get home on the railroad they had once taken for granted. Commuters rushed up the steps at Jamaica as new track numbers were announced, while they were assured the trains would wait.
Minutes later they were gone with their final passengers on board.
Ticket-takers didn't walk the aisles checking fares after the deadline had passed, effectively giving some passengers a free ride or wasting their paid tickets.
Buying tickets and knowing which trains were coming had become a nearly impossible mission as trains seemingly ran at random, compounded by damage from an Amtrak track fire the day before.
Cruz Chavez, 18, of Huntington, rode with his friends from Brooklyn after catching the last train of the night at Jamaica.
He said they had looked for an Uber, with fares topping $100. "It was hectic and very stressful," Cruz said.
The last train arrived at Huntington at 1:12 a.m., stranding some customers who were attempting to get to Port Jefferson and even Long Beach.
Laura Ladekarl, 22, of Brooklyn, was trying to go to a friend's graduation at Stony Brook. After arriving in Huntington, she waited for a friend to pick her up.
She hadn't realized the strike could disrupt train service beyond the weekend, and didn't have an immediate plan to get home.
"They told me if you don't come tonight, you may not come at all," Ladekarl said.
With Janon Fisher
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.
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