What it takes to restore service, from a former LIRR engineer

Getting train service up and running following a multiday union strike on the nation’s largest commuter railroad is no easy feat, according to Jeff Anderson.

And he would know.

A former locomotive engineer, Anderson was operating trains for the LIRR when its unions last went on strike in 1994, and remembers what it took to restore service after a two-day shutdown.

“When the strike took place, all that equipment had to be yarded up. And the yards are right now fully packed,” said Anderson, author of "Thirty Years Behind the Throttle: The Unexpected Journeys of a LIRR Locomotive Engineer".

“That equipment has to be repositioned," Anderson said. "It’s just a matter of contacting everyone and letting them know that they need to be in certain spots and get equipment repositioned, and pre-positioned for any kind of rush hour.”

Before the LIRR’s fleet of about 1,200 train cars can roll out, inspections must be conducted of both trains and tracks in accordance with Federal Railroad Administration regulations. Signal circuits, speed control systems and grade-crossing safety gates must all be tested to ensure they are working properly, Anderson said.

“It all has to be checked out before they can run passenger trains,” he said.

Although the union strike ended Monday night with the settlement of a new four-year contract, limited LIRR service is not expected to return until noon Tuesday, with hourly train service on the Babylon, Huntington, Ronkonkoma and Port Washington branches. 

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@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.