EDITORIAL: Snow days for the LIRR

Tomorrow could mark the first test of the Long Island Rail Road's new storm policy: canceling train service when snow nears 10 inches. But like forecasting precipitation amounts, the outcome is hard to predict.

The problem is that too much snow starts burying electrified third rails and interfering with the trains' power supply, as we saw in the Dec. 19 blizzard, when riders were stranded for three hours near Wyandanch. For years, the railroad has cut off service when safety is compromised by bad weather. The difference now is that the LIRR will be giving riders warning. But how will riders know at the beginning of a storm if and when the 10-inch mark will be reached, as they decide whether to commute by train? The policy may be the best one, but both passengers and the railroad must proceed with caution.

People have to get to work, especially to essential jobs. The LIRR has also been the transport of last resort for people who don't want to drive in the worst weather. That means the railroad should make every effort to extend service for as long as is feasible. Diesel trains, which are less likely to stall in snow, should be shifted onto all primary branches - Babylon, Ronkonkoma, Huntington, Port Washington and Jamaica-Atlantic Terminal.

Still, it was a diesel train that broke down near Wyandanch. Winds blew snow into drifts so deep they compromised the engines. Since even diesels are not invincible, the possibility of being stranded at Penn Station or aboard a train is real. So smart decision-making by commuters and LIRR management is what's going to work in snowstormy weather. hN