LIRR Riders Understanding of Alternate Commute

Thursday afternoon's brief, yet severe thunderstorm did some damage to Port Washington and its inhabitants' commute on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). The Metropolitcan Transportation Authority (MTA) cited fallen trees on the tracks and weather-related signal problems as reasoning for the suspension in service on the Port Washington branch.

But as of very late Thursday, service was restored in both directions on the branch. The first eastbound train was the 11:18 p.m. from Penn Station, which arrived in Port Washington on Friday at 12:04 a.m. The first westbound train operated at Great Neck at 11:49 p.m. and arrived in Penn Station on Friday at 12:22 a.m.

The suspension made it tough for commuters to get home to Port Washington, but many travelers said they thought the MTA and LIRR did a good job of accommodating commuters.

"It slowed me down quite a bit," Port Washington resident Jeff Kaufman said. "Fortunately, the railroad seemed to handle it well. They had buses waiting for us at Bayside. From Bayside we went to Great Neck via bus. There wasn't much of a problem after that. We just had to wait for the train to come through. They got us home."

Also among the many affected during their commute home was Michael Schweiger, talent agent for members of the cast of MTV's Jersey Shore. Schweiger lives in Glen Head, part of the Oyster Bay branch, which was also shut down, thus making his commute a bit tougher. He was one of many stranded at the Bayside station around 8 p.m., left to take a shuttle back to Port.

"Stuff happens; it's New York," Schweiger said of the situation. "When was the last time we had a tornado in Long Island?"

Despite the delays, most commuters seemed fairly happy with the LIRR's quick resolution.

"It turned what was normally a 45-minute commute into a two-hour commute," said one Port Washington commuter, who asked to remain anonymous. "Not bad though, considering what had happened."

For complete LIRR schedules and information, click here.