LIRR Operating on Schedule; Delays Expected

The Long Island Rail Road cancelled 23 westbound trains during Wednesday's rush hour, affecting the Oyster Bay line, but the MTA is now reporting trains operating on schedule - just expect some delays. 

A winter storm has again caused widespread problems on the railroad, causing major commuter headaches. Among the morning cancellations was the 5:12 a.m train from Oyster Bay to Penn Station, as well as several mid-morning trains.

The LIRR issued a warning Tuesday night of possible service disruptions because of Wednesday's winter storm. 

LIRR spokesman Salvatore Arena said they were well prepared for the day. 

"We had a lot of notice," Arena said. "We were anticipating, based on the earlier forecast, much more snow. We were anticipating the possibility as we did in December that we might have to suspend service on multiple branches or the whole system once the snow got into the 10 to 13 inch level."

Arena added on the problems that heavy snow brings to the railroad operations.

"It's hard to run these trains with this snow, especially the electric fleet, because you have the third rail covered," he said.  "The policy of the railroad is that when the snow gets that high, people should know we might start suspending service."

 The suspensions on the railroads would allow for tracks and the third rail to be cleared by special equipment and to avoid stranding trains between stations.

During the big storm in December, frozen switches forced widespread delays on the railroad's 11 branches. Most of the LIRR was shut down on the second day of the storm.

Advanced preparations, extra employees and less commuters helped the LIRR handle Tuesday's storm, but there were still delays and reduced service, according to LIRR spokesman Salvatore Arena.

"Our customer count indicates that as much as 75 percent of our normal commuters stayed home," Arena said. "Nonetheless, the snow was problematic. We began the day saying in all likelihood we would be running reduced service and that was what happened. There were fewer trains, but they were running, by and large."

The railroad urged passengers who are not required to travel on Wednesday morning to stay home. Service updates are available on the MTA's web site: http://www.mta.info/

The phone for the LIRR's Travel Information Center is 718-217-5477.