LIRR strike: Long Islanders sit in traffic, buses, or work from home on first work day of shutdown

A once-in-a-generation strike by railroad workers shut down services on all branches of the nation’s busiest commuter railway. Commuters relied on alternatives such as shuttle buses, subways, and other transportation modes, including cars, buses, ferries, and scooters. The changes required people to wake up earlier, potentially pay more, and spend additional time in traffic, especially when traveling through outer parts of Queens and Brooklyn to reach subway routes they do not regularly use. Late Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a deal to end the work stoppage and gradually restore train service on Tuesday. Commuters still reported a difficult first day, describing long delays, wrong turns, and being far from their expected destinations.

"A once-in-a-generation strike by railroad workers shut down services Monday on all branches of the nation's busiest commuter railway. Alternatives such as shuttle buses were in place but it meant commuters had to be up earlier, possibly pay more and sit in traffic to the outer reaches of Queens and Brooklyn to take subways they don't regularly use."

"Late Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on X that a deal had been reached to end the work stoppage and gradually get the trains rolling again Tuesday. Welcome news for commuters but not enough to erase what they went through on the strike's first workday."

"Long Islanders who would have normally commuted in and out of New York City and other points west on the LIRR spent Monday adjusting to the break from their usual workday routine. By the evening, they were tired and confused after what one commuter described as "a horrible day.""

""I'm exhausted," said Mel Santos, of Hicksville, as he got off the MTA shuttle bus Monday afternoon at the Ronkonkoma LIRR station. The 50-year-old substitute teacher boarded the wrong bus at Jamaica back to Long Island. "It's been a horrible day and this has made it a bit worse ... I'm about an hour away from where I'm supposed to be," Santos said."

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