Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad: Availability of Parking

The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) provides rail service between New York City and Long Island, and the Metro-North Railroad (Metro-North) provides rail service between New York City and certain parts of New York State and Connecticut. The LIRR operates 124 passenger stations, while Metro-North operates 88 passenger stations. We examined the actions taken by the LIRR and Metro-North to address shortages in parking spaces at certain of these stations. We also examined other actions taken by the railroads to improve the availability of parking at their passenger stations.

We found that actions had been taken to increase the number of parking spaces at certain crowded stations. However, no actions had been taken at other stations, due to the opposition of the communities containing the stations. We also found that, even though the demand for parking spaces at passenger stations is expected to increase, neither railroad had developed a comprehensive plan for addressing these projected needs. We recommend that both railroads develop such plans, and as part of the plans, consider the feasibility of developing alternative means (such as shuttle vans to and from park and ride facilities) of transporting commuters to passenger stations.

For a complete copy of Report 2001-S-10 click here.
For a copy of the 90-day response click here.
For a copy of the associated follow-up report click here.