LIRR train cars on March 9th

Senator Todd Kaminsky / Twitter

After two mornings in row with crowding on some Long Island Rail Road trains due to service cuts that went into effect this week, the MTA has reversed course.

In a statement, agency president Phil Eng said service will be restored to previous levels before the end of the month.

"We heard our customers' concerns about our new schedule loud and clear. As a result, we will restore our previous timetable on March 29," he said. "In the meantime, we will continue to strategically add additional trains and lengthen trains to meet evolving ridership levels. We continue to monitor seating availability with unprecedented clarity thanks to new technology. As declining COVID-19 cases and increased deployment of the vaccine allow New York to fully reopen, customers should expect to see more riders returning to trains every day, and we look forward to it."

On Monday, the MTA implemented pandemic-related service cuts to match lower ridership—translating to 75% service levels for 24% of the usual ridership. However, the riders on some lines found trains to be at standing room-only capacity, an unfortunate environment during a pandemic.

One rider, Chris Sloan, told Gothamist on Monday that riders were unable to socially distance during the journey between Sayville and Manhattan, "Everyone was pissed off, but kind of together in the struggle with the quiet knowledge that LIRR screwed us all."

The MTA said they added nine more trains on Tuesday morning, but for some commuters, the same problems emerged:

During a Tuesday press call, Governor Andrew Cuomo said the MTA would add more trains. "I understand financial constraints and few ridership but its smarter to have fewer people on the train during this time," he said.

State Senator Todd Kaminsky of Long Island hailed the LIRR's decision to bring back, Tweeting, "The @LIRR will reverse its drastic cuts and phase back in normal train service. This win happened because we worked together to make our voices heard. Let’s continue the fight for a sane, safe and dignified commute."

However, one commuter found the situation much the same on Wednesday morning.

The MTA expects to receive $6.5 billion from federal stimulus funds, which would allow it to avoid "drastic service cuts."