Civil construction of MTA Long Island Rail Road’s East Side Access (ESA) project has wrapped up, with third rail to be electrified and test trains to run this summer before LIRR service to Grand Central Terminal begins in December 2022.
If all goes as planned, in about one year, MTA Long Island Rail Road will be testing a prototype “BEMU” (battery-electric multiple unit) that operates on third-rail power or batteries on the 13-mile, non-electrified Oyster Bay Branch. The program, a venture with Alstom, will be North America’s first test-of-concept of this application on commuter railcars.
MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is introducing changes to its TrainTime® app as well as platform signs and audio announcements to provide real-time seat availability information an improve rider accessibility.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) reported that five railroad crossings were eliminated and bridge and station upgrade work continued in 2020, as part of its LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) Expansion Project. The project will add a third, 9.8-mile track from Floral Park to Hicksville, N.Y., to reduce train congestion and delays.
New York City’s Moynihan Train Hall will open for Amtrak and MTA Long Island Rail Road service Jan. 1. The $1.6 billion project, which renovated the 100-year-old James A. Farley Post Office Building at 8th Avenue across from Penn Station, wraps up Dec. 31.
Officials at New York MTA’s Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) announced Dec. 23 that implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) was complete, just ahead of the Dec. 31, 2020, federal deadline. They teamed with systems integrator Siemens Mobility and Bombardier Transportation on the project.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) two commuter railroads are starting a pilot test this month of a railcar air filtration and purification system from Knorr Brake Co. and its subsidiary Merak North America LLC.
MTA Long Island Rail Road President Phil Eng and Chief Innovation Officer Will Fisher describe enhancements to the LIRR’s Train Time® App, which now provides real-time information to customers. “The Route of
Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) President Phil Eng unveiled a revamped TrainTime app, highlighted by a function that aims to allow customers to track available seats in the electric fleet—which represents more than 90% of all LIRR train cars—in real time.
Track work at Penn Station New York (PSNY) this summer will have effects on two public transportation lines—NJ Transit (NJT) and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR).