LIRR Service Back On All 11 Branches; PATH, Ferry Service Coming For Monday Commute
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Electric train service has resumed on Long Island Rail Road's Long Beach Branch, nearly a month after superstorm Sandy knocked out service.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the restoration of electric service just after midnight Sunday. The Long Beach Branch will run an additional four trains in each direction to help with the holiday rush, Cuomo announced.
WCBS 880's Monica Miller reports
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The Long Beach Branch had be running via diesel trains since service resumed nearly two weeks ago. The resumption of electric service now means that all 11 LIRR branches are fully operational for the first time since Sandy hit, Cuomo said.
"I don't have to struggle, I don't have to take buses from near or far," LIRR rider Shawn Willis told WCBS 880's Monica Miller.
The first electric train from Long Beach rolled out of the station just before 4 a.m. Sunday.
Willis said this is good news, especially for some of his colleagues who couldn't get to work due to a lack of transportation options.
"She couldn't get back and forth to work, so she was losing money and it was stressing her a decent bit."
There will be reduced service on the Long Beach Branch on Monday as Amtrak continues to repair its signal system in two East River tunnels.
On Saturday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced weekday PATH service from Newark to the World Trade Center will resume.
Beginning at 5 a.m. Monday, PATH trains will run with stops in New Jersey at Newark, Harrison, Journal Square, Grove Street and Exchange Place and in New York at the World Trade Center station. The trains will run until 10 p.m. on weekdays.
Floodwater spawned by Superstorm Sandy inundated the World Trade Center station, covering its track bed with several feet of water. Port Authority PATH crews have since removed millions of gallons of water from the tracks and platforms and repaired or replaced damaged switching and signal systems.
The line will not operate on weekends, so that crews can continue their repair work.
A temporary ferry service between Staten Island and Manhattan also begins Monday.
The New York City Department of Transportation announced the New York Water Taxi will run for eight weeks to help Staten Islanders get around.
The ferry costs $2 each way and will run from Great Kills Park to Wall Street and Midtown.
Schedules are available on the DOT website or by clicking here.
