Letter: LIRR communication is too spotty
LIRR commuters are experiencing delays and cancellations at Penn Station on Tuesday, June 21, 2016, due to signal issues. Credit: Getty Images / Allison Joyce
It may be true that riding a train is statistically safer than driving a car, but the Long Island Rail Road has long way to go to become a truly safe experience [“Study: Transit may curb car deaths,” News, Sept. 7].
I’ve been an LIRR commuter for 35 years. I was on the train on Dec. 7, 1993, when Colin Ferguson executed six people and injured 19 others. There was no communication from train personnel until well after the train pulled into the station.
The LIRR has had failing marks for communicating with passengers for decades, and even Newsday’s website sometimes has better and more timely information about trains. This is largely due to the LIRR being in the business of moving trains and not people.
On-train communication systems are spotty, digital signage on some doesn’t work, and riders have no way to know whether they are in car No. 5 or 7, etc. In an emergency, most people would not know which way to run. Safer than driving, sure, but far from what it should be.
Jerry Romano, Sea Cliff
