LIRR Looks To Avoid Repeat Of Last Year's Commuting Chaos After Belmont Stakes
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Long Island Rail Road has made improvements to avoid the commuting catastrophe seen after last year's Belmont Stakes.
Belmont Park is expected to be packed as American Pharoah makes a bid for horse racing's Triple Crown this weekend.
Last year, some fans waited more than three hours to catch a train home on the LIRR after the big race.
Angela Vermillion was in the middle of all the chaos with five of her girlfriends from Maryland.
"We couldn't breathe... It was unbearable," Vermillion said. "People were pushing to get an inch further...We were afraid that if one of us trips, someone is going to get trampled."
LIRR Expects A Smoother Ride For Horse Racing Fans After Belmont Stakes
But the railroad said they don't expect a repeat of that this year.
"We feel that things will go much more smoothly than they did last year," LIRR spokesman Aaron Donovan told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell. "The wait in between trains will be greatly reduced compared to what it was last year."
There are two new elevated platforms which are longer and will be able to accommodate 10-car trains instead of eight.
There are now two tracks at the station instead of one so trains will be pulling in at the same time as trains are going out.
"Empty trains coming in and full trains going out should be happening in a simultaneous way for the first time," Donovan said.
The improvements cost approximately $5 million, New York Racing Association spokesman John Durso Jr. told CBS2 in April.
Racetrack managers have also put an attendance cap of 90,000 on the event, which should also help ease congestion on the rails.
The Goo Goo Dolls will also be performing a post-race concert at the track, which the NYRA hopes will keep people from trying to leave all at once.
