Snowstorm spurs LIRR to run on Sunday schedule on Monday

The massive snowstorm has spurred the Long Island Rail Road to operate on a regular Sunday schedule on Monday, according to the MTA.

"Service adjustments are possible depending on conditions and temporary service suspensions in some areas may be required," said a news release from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The MTA urged customers to check mta.info, the MTA app and the TrainTime app for real-time updates on service.

"Avoid unnecessary travel," said an MTA message on the LIRR website Sunday. "If you must travel, use extra caution and check service status before you go."

The agency deployed a half-dozen patrol trains Sunday to scrape ice from third rails and clear snow, as well as 16 pieces of equipment to clear tracks. About 1,800 employees were assigned to "snow-fighting operations," the MTA said.

The LIRR ran on a modified schedule Sunday, with no service between Ronkonkoma and Greenport. Trains ran hourly on the Port Jefferson branch between Huntington and New York City and on the Port Washington branch to and from Penn Station. Trains on the Port Washington branch to and from Grand Central Madison were canceled. There was also half hourly service on the Babylon branch.

Weather-related switch trouble led to reduced service across the system.

The LIRR in recent years has typically shut down if 10 or more inches of snow accumulate on tracks, Newsday previously reported. At that point, trains could lose connectivity with the electrified third rail. 

"Ten inches is something where we start to look at how the operation is behaving in the snow," LIRR President Rob Free said on Friday. "You have wet snow, you have light powdery snow, windy conditions. All those factor into what we'll do with service."

An MTA spokesperson declined to comment Sunday.

"Per the governor’s instructions, the MTA will be running service, come hell or high water," MTA Chair Janno Lieber said at a news conference Friday. "This is not our first rodeo."