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LIRR service resumes as MTA recovers from strike
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published May 19, 2026
Modified May 19, 2026
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Stephen Nessen / Gothamist
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published May 19, 2026
Modified May 19, 2026
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The Long Island Rail Road slowly crawled back into action Tuesday after the MTA cut a deal with transit unions that ended a strike that shuttered the service for three days.
After announcing the deal just before 9 p.m. Monday, the LIRR spent the following morning getting crews back into position to run service. Transit officials said service would resume Tuesday on the Babylon, Huntington/Port Jefferson, Port Washington and Ronkonkoma branches in both directions just after noon.
Regular service between Atlantic Terminal and Jamaica Station was slated to relaunch after 12:30 p.m. The remaining lines are set to resume service throughout Tuesday afternoon, and the MTA urged riders to check its TrainTime app for specific schedules.
The transit agency also urged LIRR commuters to work from home if possible as they worked to restore service. Trains were slated to be up and running on all lines by the evening rush, ahead of the Knicks' opening Eastern Conference Finals game at Madison Square Garden.
LIRR President Rob Free said during a news conference that schedules could be adjusted throughout the day to add more trains.
"We're ready to go," said Free. "We want to provide more train service. So as the avaibility is there, we'll run more trains if we can, because that's what we do."
Limited shuttle bus service from six different LIRR stations carried commuters into the city Tuesday morning. Transit officials said shuttles from two Queens subway stations would continue to carry riders to Bay Shore, Huntington and Ronkonkoma in the afternoon. But the shuttles to Hempstead Lake State Park, Hicksville and Mineola would not operate during the evening commute.
Nassau County's NICE Bus service will also continue to run additional service between the city’s subways and Long Island on Tuesday, officials said.
The LIRR strike upended commutes for the railroad's roughly 270,000 daily riders. While the first two days of the shutdown landed over the weekend, the third day created chaos for essential workers who had to come into the city. Some said their trip took several hours longer than usual.
Tagged
LIRR strike
brooklyn
economy
long island
manhattan
new york city
queens
transportation
Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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