(The following article by Joie Tyrrell was posted on the Newsday website on September 14.)
NEW YORK — Long Island Rail Road officials today are expected to detail a $2.4 billion capital plan for the next five years that calls for millions in track work, expanding the railroad and building a new rail yard east of Huntington.
But some transit advocates are questioning why the LIRR would consider expansion at a time when its parent agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, is looking at closing down lines, raising fares and cutting service.
“My problem is there does not seem to be a coordination … what they are proposing in the capital plan and some of the things they are saying on the operational side,” said state Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), a member of the state’s MTA Capital Review Board, which has final approval of the plan. He said he would not vote for it as it stands now.
“What has to happen here is they have to go back and review their own capital plan, eliminate any inappropriate inclusions … and prioritize a little better,” Skelos said. “They have to be in the real world in what the fiscal realities are of the state, local government and the MTA itself.
In July, the cash-strapped MTA warned of the possibility of ending service completely on the West Hempstead and Oyster Bay branches, and east of Ronkonkoma in 2006. The MTA also said that service reductions and a 5-percent fare hike are possible for commuter railroads next year. The MTA raised fares an average 25 percent last year.
“We are reducing service in those areas mainly due to ridership,” LIRR president James Dermody said. “It is not our core area. There is a need for a third track to handle additional traffic on the main line and bring reverse peak travel out to them.”
The MTA has said it is financially troubled, facing a $436 million deficit next year in its operating budget that could balloon to more than $1 billion in 2006. Dermody said he is hopeful that a mix of federal and state dollars could help pay for some of the LIRR’s 2005-2009 capital costs.
There is money in it to support East Side Access infrastructure, but the bulk of that project’s $6.3 billion pricetag falls under the auspices of another MTA agency, the Capital Construction Company.
Despite the financial problems, Dermody said, the railroad needs to improve its core service area, particularly the main line that runs through the heart of Long Island. The 2005-2009 capital plan, to be presented today to the Long Island Committee of the MTA board, includes $202 million for the first phase of a third track along the main line from Bellerose to Mineola. Railroad officials have said that would increase capacity as well as improve the reverse commute from Manhattan eastward.
Track work makes up a majority of the capital program, at $736 million. In addition to the massive main line project, which is only just beginning with an environmental review, $5.5 million is set aside for planning to build double track from Farmingdale to Ronkonkoma.
The capital plan also includes $190.7 million to design and construct a yard east of Huntington on the Port Jefferson branch. Railroad officials have said this yard would add service on the line and likely extend electrification east of Huntington.
The LIRR is considering four sites in Smithtown and two locations in eastern Huntington for the rail yard. Dermody said a site has not been selected but could be announced later this year.
Station work includes millions set aside to replace the platform at Seaford. Penn Station would receive $31.7 million in infrastructure improvement, such as new signage.
The plan also includes completing replacement of the older M-1 cars with an M-7 fleet. And, $2.2 million is set aside for development of the next fleet of LIRR cars – the M-9. The plan also includes funding to upgrade communications, improve signals and maintain the current fleet and equipment.
After the MTA’s LIRR committee approves the plan, it will go to the full board later this month. It is then submitted, along with the MTA’s total capital plan, to the state review board.
Dermody said the overall LIRR plan is lean. “I’m positive it can be done,” Dermody said of the LIRR’s plan. “Paying for it is another matter.”