Comptroller: LIRR doesn't follow own procedure during service disruptions

A new report from New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says the Long Island Rail Road does not follow its own procedure when it comes to communicating with customers during service disruptions.

DiNapoli's office looked at 49 service interruptions between January 2015 and July 2017. DiNapoli says during many of those incidents, procedures were not clear and cited a lack of communication to riders about alternative transportation arrangements.

The report comes on the heels of the railroad's lowest annual on-time performance in the last 19 years.

LIRR officials say the audit is outdated. LIRR President Phillip Eng says the railroad has made major improvements in communication under his leadership. Among them, he says, is putting in additional transit alert signs, increasing delay notifications to riders and creating a new real-time GPS train tracking web application.

News 12 spoke with some riders who agree that communication from the railroad is getting better. But others still complained about delays.

Eng tells News 12 he has not discussed the report with the comptroller as of yet, but he is willing to work with DiNapoli on improving riders' experience.

Read more:
Report: LIRR's on-time performance slipped in 2018
LIRR has worst on-time performance in 19 years