LIRR President Explains How Railroad Has Been Plagued For Months
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Anyone who has ridden the Long Island Rail Road in the last few months can tell you it has been rough at times, with delays and cancellations.
LIRR President Patrick Nowakowski said during a committee meeting that many issues have plagued the LIRR – including leaves on the tracks, bad weather, and out-of-service equipment.
On Dec. 5, leaves on the tracks caused a mess on the trains – and altogether, 367 cars had to be taken offline for repairs.
"We did just modify our fleet this year and put more leaf-fighting equipment out there every night," he said.
Nowakowski showed photos of one broken piece of equipment nicknamed the Darth Vader, which plows snow from the tracks.
He also spoke at length about Amtrak and Penn Station.
"It's been one disaster after another at Penn Station," Nowakowski said. "Amtrak needs to do better."