MTAs claims of 40% boost in LIRR service derailed by new audit with nearly half of new trains never leaving Brooklyn

The MTA’s claims that it boosted Long Island Rail Road service by more than 40% with the launch of the Grand Central Madison station is being derailed by a new state audit. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s report examined LIRR post-pandemic ridership — between January 2021 and November 2023 — and looked into the period both before and after the $11 billion Grand Central Madison station, the LIRR’s newest Manhattan stop, which opened in early 2023.While the MTA touted a 41% spike in the number of LIRR trains operating each day — from 665 to 936 daily — the late May audit found the actual increase was more like 23%, noting the stats were padded by nearly half of those additional service trains making short shuttle runs between Jamaica and Brooklyn.The additional service runs were meant to help slash commute times and increase the flow of riders from across Long Island into the Big Apple.Instead, the audit found riders experienced the opposite — excessive delays and longer commutes.“Some passengers may have been required to change their travel times, increasing wait times and adding more steps to their trips where direct service was eliminated,” the audit found, also citing the LIRR’s poor job of applying customer feedback to their service changes. The MTA disputed the findings in a statement to The Post, claiming it counted additional trains in service between Penn Station and Jamaica but “discounted 118 additional trains to East New York, Nostrand Avenue and Atlantic Terminal, important stations in the City Terminal Zone.”“Ridership has grown 10 percent over the last year, and riders … are enjoying more trains and reverse-commuting options that didn’t exist before,” the statement added.“And at a time when the number of available East River tunnels is being reduced for repairs, Grand Central Madison delivers operational flexibility to ensure Long Islanders can get where they need to go.”LIRR president Robert Free also pushed...