LIRR Update: 4 Branches Remain Down After Nightmare Day For Commuters

UPDATE 9:30 p.m.: Service remains suspended on the Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach and West Hempstead branches. The LIRR has not given an estimate on when service may be restored on those branches. There is also still no service between Jamaica Station and Atlantic Terminal. 

UPDATE 4 p.m.: Service has now been restored on the Port Washington Branch. Train service is also restored in diesel territory – on the entire Montauk Branch, as well as the Oyster Bay and Port Jefferson branches and between Greenport and Ronkonkoma.

Numerous delays and cancellations have been announced for the evening commute. Find the details here.

Original story:

Let’s just say the Long Island Rail Road’s return to service Monday morning has not been going smoothly.

The plan was to restore full service on several branches by 5 a.m. following this weekend’s blizzard. That didn’t happen.

At 6 a.m., service was restored on the Babylon, Ronkonkoma and Huntington branches with express trains making local stops until they were filled. And they filled up pretty quickly. Many commuters were standing on platforms for more than an hour as full trains went rumbling right past stations. Numerous trains have been canceled or delayed.

RELATED: Long Island Snow Totals

Service remains completely suspended on the Port Washington, Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach and West Hempstead branches, and east of Speonk on the Montauk Branch. There is also no service between Jamaica Station and Atlantic Terminal. LIRR tickets are being cross-honored by New York City Transit on the 2 and 3 trains between Brooklyn and Penn Station.

Find the latest updates here: http://alert.mta.info/

On Sunday, the MTA did advise commuters to “if at all possible to remain at home and avoid travel as clean up efforts continue” on Monday, but LIRR riders probably didn’t expect things to be as awful as they have been this morning.

The Long Island Rail Road Commuter Council (LIRRCC) said it was “extremely disappointed in the completeness and accuracy of communication provided by the LIRR to its riders” following the blizzard.

LIRRCC Chair Mark Epstein said “when weather conditions disrupt service, the LIRR’s communication with riders must be timely, accurate, and clear. Riders enduring these difficult conditions must have the information that
they need to access available service. Unfortunately many riders today did not receive adequate information from the LIRR.”

Here’s what people are saying on Twitter: