Bring back the LIRR's Road 'n' Rail

The recent opening of the new Yaphank-BNL station came with much hoopla and fanfare, and rightfully so. It’s in a better location, has much better parking and offers more amenities than the old Yaphank station did. Even better, it was built with Metropolitan Transportation Authority in-house talent, giving them pride of ownership.

But the reality is, even with all that, it will probably not see a significant increase in ridership, and the reason is very simple: Ridership depends on service, and Yaphank’s service is extremely limited. A key reason is that it is located in single-track territory, meaning trains can’t be scheduled in both directions at the same time or pass each other if there’s a problem on the rails. There are about 44 miles of single track between Ronkonkoma and Greenport, significantly hindering the Long Island Rail Road’s ability to increase service in its current configuration.

While it’s true that the MTA has just launched a feasibility study and cost-benefit analysis to evaluate expanding and modernizing service east of Ronkonkoma, including providing additional service, any actual physical improvements — like double tracking to Riverhead, potential electrification and signal and substation improvements — won’t happen until they are included in the next five-year Capital Plan. This means riders would have to wait at least 5-10 years before train service could be increased substantially. In the meantime, commuters and visitors to the North Fork are stuck with just a few daily trains to choose from or must rely on the Hampton Jitney or driving, unless they take the even slower Suffolk County Transit bus service that runs locally.

There is, however, a way to bring better service to the North Fork and East End much more quickly: Bring back “Road ’n’ Rail.” This was a bus service the LIRR ran from the 1960s to the early ’80s to supplement the limited train service of the time. Back in the day, it ran on both Forks, but since then the LIRR has added more service on the South Shore to accommodate the surge in ridership that came with development. The same cannot be said for travelers trying to get from Greenport, Mattituck, Riverhead or other stops east of Ronkonkoma. If you were to add the six weekday buses they used to run to the five trains they run now, you would more than double the number of opportunities people on the North Fork have to travel westward and cut departure times in half, from once every four hours to once every two hours.

Needless to say, similar eastbound opportunities can and should also be offered. A lot has changed in the 40-plus years since Road ’n’ Rail was discontinued. The population on the East End has boomed, and there are many more attractions (such as wine country and the aquarium) to entice people to head east.

Bus service is no stranger to the LIRR; to this day, it’s used to ferry customers during periodic service disruptions, and there’s really no difference in transferring from a diesel train or bus to electric train service. Key to the successful reintroduction of Road ’n’ Rail, of course, will be ensuring that schedules are aligned and sufficient time is given to make connections between trains and buses. So why wait? Let’s give the Greenport line the passenger service it deserves now, even as we study a faster future.

This guest essay reflects the views of Gerard Bringmann of Holtsville, the chair of the LIRR Commuter Council and a nonvoting MTA Board member.