The Long Island Rail Road has been plagued by switch problems, signal issues, and track breaks over the past few months, which has caused headaches for commuters and businesses.
The string of service disruptions demonstrates that the New York State Senate must quickly adopt the MTA’s Capital Program proposal, which would fill the MTA Capital Program’s remaining $7 billion deficit. In addition to financing high-profile expansions like East Side Access, the Capital Program keeps the LIRR in a state of good repair. It pays for things like track work and signal maintenance, which are vital to the system’s continued, reliable operation.
Transit advocates have been in Albany urging adoption of the Capital Program and the passage of Governor Cuomo’s budget, which provides $770 million to the MTA’s Capital Program and compensates the MTA for the $310 million it lost in last year’s payroll mobility tax deal.
Funding may be part, a large part, of the LIRR’s problems.
An additional part is the culture and attitude of LIRR management and employees. “Good Enough for the LIRR” is practically a company motto. Work is done poorly, at great expense, poorly supervised and there is very little accountability.
This contributes to the lack of funding because who wants to throw more money at such a wasteful and poorly run system?
Change needs to start at the top, and not just spin, and the change needs to propagate to every level of the LIRR.