Give the MTA and LIRR credit for significant increases in overall service, especially reverse peak capacity. This was primarily made possible by both completion of the Ronkonkoma Branch double tracking (at a cost of $450 million), Main Line Third Track ($2.6 billion) and Jamaica Capacity Improvements ($500 million) along with $11.2 billion for work performed at either end of the 63rd Street tunnel build decades earlier.

This includes connecting the tunnel to both Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan and the Harold Interlocking to the Main Line in Queens, along with construction of the new Grand Central Madison Terminal. The real price for this project when you add up all the costs is really closer to $15 billion.

Penn Station is a 24/7 facility with overnight service to and from between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Grand Central Terminal is closed overnight from 2 a.m. to 5:15 a.m. Unlike the LIRR, Metro North provides no service in or out during that time period. Why does MTA hold the LIRR and Metro North to different standards when it comes to utilizing these two facilities? Catherine Renaldi is the first MTA official to serve as president of both Long Island and Metro North Rail Roads. The LIRR should provide equal levels of 24/7 service to both Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal customers.

A simple analysis of all the proposed schedules reveals, that depending upon your branch or station, there is no train to or from GCT between three to five hours overnight on weekdays and weekends.

There will be limited direct service from Jamaica to Atlantic Terminal Brooklyn. This will inevitably add travel time for many riders who have to change at Jamaica. If you are among the fortunate ones with direct trains to Atlantic Terminal or a direct scheduled connection in the a.m. between tracks 1, 2 and 3 or in the p.m. between tracks 6, 7 and 8, you luck out.

Based upon a simple analysis of all the timetables, taking into consideration that the scoot (faster, more frequent) service  will run every 20 minutes off peak and weekends, your travel time is likely to be longer. (It is up the stairs, elevator or escalator to the mezzanine from tracks 1, 2 and 3 and back down the stairs, escalator or elevator to new tracks 9 and 10 at Jamaica to continue any trip to and from Brooklyn to Jamaica,

Port Washington branch riders to Penn Station are losers when it comes to current direct off-peak and weekend 30-minute service. Those boarding a Grand Central Terminal-bound train will either wait another 30 minutes or change at Woodside. (This involves going up the stairs and across the mezzanine back down the stairs to the center platform. Now wait for the next Penn Station bound train from Jamaica.)

The Port Washington branch Elmhurst LIRR station closed in 1982 was supposed to be reopened by 2024. Funding for construction was deleted from the $51 billion 2020 – 2024 Capital Plan. Why not restore the $50 million necessary to rebuild this station? Restoring the old station would provide a new alternative for Elmhurst and other nearby residents. Should disruptions in service occur at either Woodside, Penn Station or GCT, Port Washington branch customers would have the option to exit the Elmhurst Station and transfer to either the M or R subway lines at the adjacent NYC Transit subway station. There would be a second transfer opportunity to either the E, F or #7 subway lines one stop away at the 74th Street Jackson Heights – Roosevelt Avenue station

The service dead zone between Great Neck and Port Washington still remains. There is no a.m. peak reverse service from Great Neck to Port Washington between 6:38 AM to 7:42 a.m. and 8:07 a.m. and 9:04 a.m. Adding passing sidings or double tracking is the only solution. This has been ignored for decades.

Give the MTA and LIRR credit for the major increase in service to and from Bayside during rush hours. This includes adding two a.m. Manhattan-bound trains originating in Bayside.

What has the LIRR budgeted to cover operational costs for this additional service? This includes salaries and fringe for engineers, conductors, maintenance and power. Will previous postponed fare increases be rolled up into a larger fare increase in 2023 or 2024?. With inflation at record levels, LIRR employees are bound to ask for significant wage increases well above what the LIRR may have budgeted.

Larry Penner

(Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously worked for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office. This included the development, review, approval and oversight for billions in capital projects and programs for the MTA, NYC Transit, Long Island and Metro North Rail Roads, MTA Bus, NYC Department of Transportation along with 30 other transit agencies in NY & NJ).