Musings: LIRR derails a refund for me
An LIRR ticket machine. A reader was denied a refund for a ticket he could not use. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
Two months shy of my 89th birthday, I bought a round-trip Long Island Rail Road ticket to Penn Station on July 21 to go to a Yankees game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. I was to meet friends there.
Rain forced a postponement of the game until the next night, so I stayed home.
I went back to the Rockville Centre LIRR ticket office on July 22, bought another ticket and asked about a refund.
The clerk suggested a phone call to an office, but I later discovered there is a form for refunds.
I filled it out and sent it in. A refund of my $15 was denied because an LIRR email said, “Ticket type is not eligible for refund as of 1/4/2026.” I consider this theft of service.
Twenty years after retiring, I’ve told people one thing I miss about not working is the train ride, especially the one home with a bourbon and a newspaper open to the opinion page or a crossword puzzle.
I guess I’ll be changing my tune.
— Larry McCoy, Rockville Centre
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