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NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - The MTA says that all branches of the Long Island Rail Road are restored for Tuesday morning's rush hour.
"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.
For countless commuters, Monday morning was a tedious game of hurry up and wait for a train that may or may not come. If you wanted to take a train from Long Beach, you were out of luck. While the platforms were clear of snow, ice and snow covered the third rail, several trains sat at the station, as workers shoveled the tracks by hand. Finally some Long Island Railroad service was restored Monday morning, but four lines remain suspended.
LIRR train service is restored on the Babylon, Ronkonkoma, and Huntington branches with express trains making local stops until they are filled. Train service is also restored in diesel territory – Oyster Bay and Port Jefferson branches, between Greenport and Ronkonkoma and west of Speonk on the Montauk Branch.
But Monday night, LIRR train service remained suspended on the Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach and West Hempstead branches, and east of Speonk on the Montauk Branch due to the on-going effects of this weekend’s blizzard. Service between Jamaica Station and Atlantic Terminal is also suspended. Instead, LIRR tickets are cross-honored by New York City Transit on the Nos. 2 and 3 subway lines between Brooklyn and Penn Station.
Officials with the LIRR delays and cancelations on the historic amount of snow along with refreezing rails and switches. The LIRR's Aaron Donovan said in a statement: "... our crews are working around the clock -- just as they have been through the storm, and all weekend -- to restore full service to our riders. In terms of communications, the railroads are very aggressive in providing information directly to customers so they can plan their travels."
For more information, please visit www.mta.info.