NEW YORK — The Long Island Rail Road budget for next year calls for eliminating five peak trains and closing some ticket windows on weekends, Newsday reported.
LIRR president Ken Bauer said yesterday some reductions had to be made to continue to fund future railroad projects and to offset increases in operating costs, such as insurance and pension funds.
The trains to be eliminated have not yet been identified. Bauer said they are shoulder peak trains, meaning at the end or near the beginning of the rush hour.
Bauer did not identify which seven stations would have ticket window closures. He stressed the stations will remain open and commuters will be able to buy tickets through vending machines. Bauer said the railroad also will not replace aging windows on its older M-1 trains and will postpone additional cleaning for the new M-7 trains introduced this year, which will continue to be put into service through 2003.
The 2003 spending plan has a $425.1-million cash deficit, roughly $8 million more than this year’s budget. The $1-billion budget is based on whether the full Metropolitan Transportation Authority board approves a 20 percent increase in ticket prices that is currently under consideration. The MTA board is looking at three options: a 10 percent hike, 20 percent or 30 percent.
Bauer said a 10 percent hike would be devastating for the railroad. And if the 20 percent hike doesn’t come through or another funding source isn’t identified, then more severe cuts will be needed, including eliminating 10 trains, closing some ticket windows completely and reducing customer service.
“The contingency budget would be much more severe for our customers,” Bauer said. “The budget passed [yesterday], while it has some reductions of items in there, it has minimal impact on the customer.”
The LIRR committee of the MTA passed the budget yesterday. It is expected to go the full MTA board next week for approval.
Beverly Dolinsky, executive director of the Long Island Rail Road Commuter’s Council, said commuters would not be happy with cuts in service.
“Any cuts are bad for commuters,” she said.
The current budget year is expected to end with a decline in ridership, about 2.5 percent less than last year due to a slowing economy, Bauer said. LIRR officials are projecting a 1.6 percent increase in ridership for next year.
Bauer noted that the railroad is on track for a record on-time performance year, with 94.3 percent of trains running on-time.
“The best the railroad has ever done was 93.6 back in 1993,” he said.