The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said Tuesday it would reverse service cuts that have led to overcrowded Long Island Rail Road trains this week.
Trains will be restored by the end of the month, LIRR president Phil Eng said.
“We heard our customers’ concerns about our new schedule loud and clear. As a result, we will restore our previous timetable on March 29,” he said. “In the meantime, we will continue to strategically add additional trains and lengthen trains to meet evolving ridership levels. We continue to monitor seating availability with unprecedented clarity thanks to new technology. As declining COVID-19 cases and increased deployment of the vaccine allow New York to fully reopen, customers should expect to see more riders returning to trains every day, and we look forward to it.”
@MTA how are we supposed to social distance when the LIRR is over crowded thanks to the new schedules implemented pic.twitter.com/d46UN5cfRa
— monica torres (@mrst1122) March 9, 2021
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, “We had a situation with the Long Island Rail Road with a reduced service due to reduced ridership. That did not work, certainly didn’t work well. There are a lot of reports of overcrowded trains. We don’t want overcrowded trains, especially during this period of COVID. So I’m calling on the Long Island Rail Road to reverse what they’ve done, increase service.”