MTA: Riders Will Be 'Fairly Compensated' For Summer Schedule Changes

On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called on the Long Island Rail Road to reduce fairs for riders who are going to take trains over the summer that don't make it all the way to Penn Station due to the planned construction at the terminal. And the LIRR agreed.

Cuomo called for the refund while at the grand opening of the West End Concourse at Farley, the first phase of the Pennsylvania Station-Farley Complex project in redeveloping the Farley Building to create a new Train Hall to house passenger facilities for the LIRR.

"LIRR riders unable to go into Penn Station this summer because of Amtrak's emergency repair work deserve a discounted fare for enduring the inconvenience of a disrupted commute," Cuomo said. "Our top priority is ensuring all New Yorkers can get where they need to go as quickly and easily as possible this summer with minimal inconvenience and this is just another way we can try and relieve frustration."

Due to the work over the summer by Amtrak, some trains will not make it all the way to Penn Station. They will terminate at Atlantic Terminal or at Hunterspoint Avenue. The work is expected to affect nearly 10,000 commuters over the summer.

And the MTA agreed with the governor. "Governor Cuomo is right that due to Amtrak’s repairs some customers are paying for a service they won’t be getting this summer — and that they deserve a fare decrease," said the MTA’s interim executive director, Veronique Hakim. "We intend to follow the Governor's lead and make sure our riders are fairly compensated."

How much the fare decrease would be was not released by the MTA. The MTA's special summer schedule will run from July 10 through Sept. 1. To see how your train will be affected, check out the full schedules here.

Photo: AP/Richard Drew