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Service Fully Restored on Long Island Rail Road

LIRR blizzard
(Photo credit: MTA New York City Transit / Leonard Wiggins)

Relief finally came to Long Island Rail Road riders Tuesday as the railroad returned to full service following a headache-filled commute a day earlier.

All LIRR branches were fully restored in time for Tuesday morning’s commute, railroad officials said. The restoration of service comes one day after riders were forced to deal with cancellations, delays, and packed trains following this weekend’s blizzard.

“We expect to have all segments of all branches operating Tuesday morning, but customers should allow extra travel time and check for the potential for weather-related delays before traveling,” LIRR President Patrick Nowakowski said in a statement.

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Crews had been working since Saturday’s blizzard to have the railroad fully operational by the beginning of the week.

Rail yards were buried in two feet of snow and tracks were blanketed in mounds of white stuff due to the powerful Nor’easter that rolled in on Saturday. On Sunday, officials said they were hoping to have full service restored by Monday morning. But five branches remained closed Monday and only one other line was restored in time for riders to head back to the Island for the evening commute.

Nowakowski said thousands of railroad employees had been working to clear snow and repair damaged equipment.

“I thank them all for a job well done fighting a snowstorm that hit us harder than expected,” Nowakowski said.

The delays Nowakowski had warned riders about materialized early Tuesday morning. There were scattered delays of up to 10 minutes due to ongoing effects from the storm, the LIRR said.

About an hour later, however, service was running on or close to schedule.