LIRR unveils new technology that can help riders avoid crowded trains

There is new help for Long Islanders looking to avoid crowded trains during the coronavirus pandemic. Ridership on the Long Island Rail Road is down because of the pandemic, in some case as much as 75%. The LIRR unveiled new features on its app Tuesday to

News 12 Staff

•

Sep 8, 2020, 7:25 PM

•

Updated 1,568 days ago

Nobel in medicine goes to 2 scientists whose work enabled creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19

449ds ago

1:25

Pharmacies say they have not received orders for newest COVID booster

454ds ago

0:21

Biden administration announces $600M to produce COVID tests and will reopen website to order them

461ds ago

0:41

Nobel in medicine goes to 2 scientists whose work enabled creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19

449ds ago

1:25

Pharmacies say they have not received orders for newest COVID booster

454ds ago

0:21

Biden administration announces $600M to produce COVID tests and will reopen website to order them

461ds ago

0:41

Gov. Hochul: Updated COVID-19 vaccine to be available in NY in the coming days

468ds ago

2:13

NYSDOH: COVID numbers up with new variant accounting for 17% of new cases

502ds ago

2:30

NYSHD: Hospitalizations caused by COVID increase by 22% in a week

510ds ago

There is new help for Long Islanders looking to avoid crowded trains during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ridership on the Long Island Rail Road is down because of the pandemic, in some case as much as 75%.

The LIRR unveiled new features on its app Tuesday to show riders if many people are aboard a train so they can properly social distance.

The LIRR train time app can accurately determine how many people are on a train in real time, across its entire fleet and on all branches.

The LIRR also showed riders historical data on ridership levels on each train from the last week or so. That way, the railroad says riders can pick and choose individual cars in real time, to see which ones are less full than others.

LIRR President Phil Eng says no other railroad in the world uses technology like this, which uses special sensors in the cars, weight sensors and infrared sensors plus cameras to determine how many people are aboard each car.

LIRR watchdog groups say the technology is incredibly valuable because it's expected more people will return to riding the rails in the fall.

The LIRR says about 24,000 people have already downloaded the app.

More from News 12

1:35