LIRR commuters hope Hochul, MTA live up to their words and next week's changes improve service
NEW YORK - If all goes according to plan, Friday should be the last day of chaos for commuters on the Long Island Rail Road.
It's been a long, frustrating week for many after schedule changes took effect Monday.
The MTA's new plan is supposed to help commuters going to Brooklyn, but many aren't holding their breath.
Crowds of angry commuters at Atlantic Terminal have never been so happy it's Friday. They're reeling from the schedule changes.
"It's disastrous," a commuter said.
"It has been terrible. I already wrote my comment card to the LIRR," said Sandy del Valle.
"It's ridiculous. The whole thing is absurd," a commuter said.
All week, these commuters have had to take new routes to and from work after the LIRR changed its schedule to accommodate service to Grand Central Madison on the East Side.
Now, many are stuck with longer commuters - an hour more for some.
"I've done this for over 27 years. This is insanity," said Beth Henry, a teacher who commutes from Massapequa to Brooklyn five days a week.
"Grand Central is gorgeous. That's great for all the visitors, but they forgot about the people who consistently take this terrible service," she said.
The changes eliminated most direct trains to Atlantic Terminal, forcing commuters to transfer at Jamaica and take shuttle trains.
"It's a nightmare, because we never had to transfer trains at Jamaica before," said Gail Johnson.
"It's not just an easy up and around. You're going from track two to track 12," said Jessica Tagliarino.
Thursday, Catherine Rinaldi, the LIRR's interim president, said the system will add another train on the Brooklyn branch next week, increasing the frequency of the shuttles.
"We're making some adjustments to be able to address some of the crowding conditions," Rinaldi said.
Commuters told CBS2 it's not enough and accused the LIRR of discriminating against Brooklyn.
"Direct is what we need. This is rush hour. This is rush hour. You're holding us up, and that's not convenient. It's convenient everywhere else, but Brooklyn also counts," said Dana Fowler.
"We need direct service, definitely direct service," another commuter said.
"It's unfair for us, everything they're doing is just Manhattan, Manhattan," said another.
Gov. Kathy Hochul called this week's problems a temporary situation, pointing out it was the LIRR schedule's first dramatic change in 100 years.
The MTA said it will add more cars to popular trains heading to Penn Station to alleviate overcrowding. Roughly 70 percent of commuters are going there, even with Grand Central Madison open.
