(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on January 8, 2010.)
In 2009, MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) achieved record on-time performance (OTP) of 95.2 percent, the third-straight year the railroad reached an OPT high-water mark. LIRR previously set OTP records of 95.1 percent in 2008 and 94.1 percent in 2007. A train is considered on time if it reaches its final destination within six minutes of the scheduled arrival time.
Morning peak OTP reached 95.7 percent vs. 95.4 percent in 2008 while off-peak OTP set a record at 95.4 percent, edging out the previous record of 95.3 percent achieved in 2008. LIRR’s OTP in diesel territory improved to 93.3 percent compared with 2008’s 92.8 percent.
The railroad attributes the OTP improvements to fleet investments, better maintenance practices and vegetation management, and a “robust” maintenance-of-way program, LIRR officials said in a prepared statement.
Meanwhile, MTA Metro-North Railroad also set an OTP record in 2009. The railroad reached a mark of 97.8 percent vs. 97.5 percent in 2008.