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It’s not every day the railroad has good news to share.
But the Long Island Rail Road reported today that it just shattered its post-pandemic ridership record — thanks in part to thousands of golf fans headed to the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale.
The LIRR reported 301,440 riders on Wednesday, its highest single-day total since the COVID-19 pandemic, including about 20,000 passengers traveling to and from Farmingdale for the ongoing international golf tournament.
To meet demand, the railroad added nine extra trains to its Ryder Cup schedule this week and arranged for seven additional trains to make Farmingdale stops.
The record caps off a summer of strong numbers. Daily ridership has surpassed 290,000 six times since June, with more than 298,000 riders on July 23 and 295,000 the day before.
The LIRR also logged its busiest seven-day stretch since the pandemic: from Aug. 25-31, the railroad carried 1.77 million passengers.
The summer crowds were fueled by the U.S. Open, nice warm weather for travel to the Hamptons and Long Island beaches, concerts at UBS Arena and the success of the Yankees and Mets, who recorded the team’s highest-ever home attendance total this season.
Railroad officials further credited expanded service, improved punctuality and upgraded facilities for the ridership rebound.
“Riders are coming back because we increased service by 40%, dramatically improved on-time performance, and delivered world-class terminal environments at Grand Central Madison and Penn Station,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said.
To help put the ridership amount in perspective, Lieber noted that more people ride the LIRR on a daily basis than live in St. Louis.
Through the first half of 2025, 96.6% of LIRR trains reached their destinations on time, the best rate in its history outside the pandemic years, railroad officials said.
Customer satisfaction has climbed as well, reaching 81% this spring, up from 70% the year before, officials added.
Top photo: LIRR station in Port Jefferson (Facebook/LIRR)
