New Restroom Renovations Completed in Penn
Size of Women’s Room Doubled
Newly renovated restroom facilities are now available in Penn Station, as a $5.5 million upgrade has been completed. “We completely modernized and improved one of the busiest restrooms in the city, including doubling the size of the women's room,” said LIRR President Helena Williams. “This much needed renovation will greatly benefit thousands of our customers and out-of-town visitors, and it opened just in time for the busy holiday travel season.” Highlights of the reconstruction included expanding the size of the Women’s Room, adding a fresh-air intake and ventilation system, and enhancing the heating and lighting. Both the women’s and men’s rooms have been designed for easy maintenance, and include touch-free sensor-operated facilities. In addition to the major restroom renovations, improvements will be completed to the adjacent customer waiting area. New 46-inch monitors will display track and departure times as well as service-related text messages, giving customers up-to-date, real-time information. Seventy-six new cushioned seats also have been installed, and overhead lighting has been improved. The renovations were completed within an almost 100-year old facility that rests above active train tracks. We thank our customers for their patience during the renovations.

Extra Thanksgiving Service
On Wednesday afternoon, November 25, nine extra holiday eve early getaway trains will run from Penn Station to Babylon (3), Huntington (2), Hicksville (1), Great Neck (1), Far Rockaway (1); and from Hunterspoint Ave. to Montauk (1).  On Thanksgiving Day morning, November 26, we will provide extra westbound “parade” trains from Wantagh (2), Ronkonkoma (2), Speonk (1), and Port Jefferson (1). Extra trains back to Long Island after the parade include Ronkonkoma Branch (4), Babylon Branch (3) … and one each to Huntington, Port Jefferson and Speonk. We will operate a regular schedule on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but off-peak fares will be in effect all day.
Review your branch timetable for the details or visit our website.
We wish a very happy Thanksgiving to all ... and please remember that no alcohol will be allowed on LIRR trains from 8 PM Wednesday, November 25 through 5 AM Thursday, November 26.

Falling Leaves Can Mean Slower Trains
Our plans and methods for combatting Long Island’s annual slippery-rail conditions (aka: SlipSlide) are in full swing. SlipSlide-ing occurs when train wheels crush leaves on our tracks, leaving an extremely slippery substance behind. We’ve been pro-active in dealing with this problem by removing excess vegetation along our tracks. We’re also scouring and adding the anti-slip agent “sandite” to our rails in areas have been identified as being affected by this problem. What’s that mean to you? Well, it all comes down to safety, and when SlipSlide conditions exist, we simply must slow our trains. While that can make some of your trains a little late … it keeps you safe … and that’s our number one concern. Please see our video on this topic at our Facebook page and on our website.

Customer Appreciation Giveaway Winner
This month’s winner of our ongoing 175th Anniversary Celebration Customer Appreciation contest, Eric Lynes (shown here), received four tickets to Blood Manor. Eric’s been reverse-commuting for several years now and thoroughly enjoys it. However, you might want to wish him some added luck … as this “not for the faint-of-heart” haunted house may test his courage!

Sign Up for Email Alerts
The MTA and the LIRR now have a more robust email and text messaging system to notify registered customers of service disruptions at any of the MTA’s family of transportation agencies, including the LIRR. Using our website, you can register to receive alerts about any combination of subway lines,bus routes, rail lines, bridges or tunnels on your cellphone or pda. You can choose to receive them 24/7, or only during a particular time of day or week.

Coat Drive 2009
For the 21st year, New York Cares and the LIRR are working together collecting coats to keep some of our neighbors-in-need warm. Here’s how it works – from December 1 through December 31, volunteers will be on hand at Penn Station to accept, and then pass along, your clean, wearable winter clothing. If you want to take part, please bring your donations on any weekday in December (except Christmas Day) to the collection center near the 34th Street escalators from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM. Last year, you and your fellow New Yorkers helped us keep over 70,000 people warm. New York Cares, the LIRR … and those who were helped by your generosity … say “Thank you.”

Holiday Train
On Saturday, November 21, come meet members of the world- famous Radio City Rockettes® at our Rockville Centre and Babylon stations from 8 AM - 10 AM, on our 2 Holiday trains, and/or at Penn Station from 11 AM - 2 PM. Enter the raffle for a chance to win tickets to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular® or Wintuk by Cirque Du Soleil®. For details, and to find out about the LIRR packages to these shows, visit our website.

On Time Performance (OTP)
Our OTP came in at 95.15% in October, tying the previous best-ever October OTP, which was set in 2002, and continuing a year of improving on time performance. 

BRANCH	AM Peak	PM Peak	Off- Peak	Total October 2009	Total October 2008
Babylon	96.0	93.8	95.1	95.0	95.0
Far Rockaway	96.7	99.0	98.2	98.1	98.2
Hicksville/Huntington	94.2	94.2	93.7	93.8	93.1
Hempstead	96.4	96.5	97.7	97.4	96.9
Long Beach	96.2	97.1	97.7	97.4	97.1
Montauk	91.5	93.0	91.1	91.4	94.4
Oyster Bay	94.2	93.9	93.4	93.6	91.8
Port Jefferson	90.3	94.8	94.2	93.6	92.6
Port Washington	96.5	96.4	96.3	96.3	96.6
Greenport/Ronkonkoma	91.7	94.9	91.3	91.9	91.6
West Hempstead	98.2	97.0	98.0	97.8	96.9
TOTAL	94.9	95.3	95.2	95.2	95.0

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