Irony and the Long Island Railroad

Wow! Talk about all the irony these past few weeks on Long Island. First Long Islanders spent three days in a panic, spending tons of money over Hurricane Earl that never showed. Then yesterday in 15 minutes we had an intense storm with all the devastation but no warnings. I think Mother Nature is having a good laugh at our ability to predict weather.

But no where is the sense of irony as strong as with the LIRR. For yesterday another storm brought yet another failure. This on the same night that they held a hearing to discuss fare hikes. I really question their need to raise fares as I continue to look in bewilderment as they as talk with pride about new construction for Grand Central Station, the Old Post Office building next to Penn Station and additional subway lines. I come to the same question:
Why is the MTA spending money to build more lines of service when they can't even handle the current lines of service? When they in fact keep reducing current service and threaten even more cuts?

How is this fiscally responsible. Why not shut down these extra construction projects that will not realistically be completed in this decade and will surely cost more than budgeted, and put that money to keep our current services working. Adding a new station in Manhattan is not going to help anyone during the current economic crisis. Keeping the fares down, the trains clean and on time will retain ridership and keep money in people's pockets. Let's stop the unnecessary construction and maintain what we have.

Another ironic detail about yesterday's storm compared to the last LIRR outage just a couple of weeks ago. During the previous outage, all train lines were out for days with the exception of the Port Washington branch. Local news crews were out in Port Washington getting reactions from boastful residents about how smart they were that they live close to such a reliable branch. I had to laugh this morning when due to the aftermath of the storm, the Port Washington line was the only line to be suspended due to debris on the tracks. Is that irony or karma?


I'll leave you with one last bit of irony. The LIRR has been looking to move their Penn Station service across the street to the old Post Office building in Manhattan. Personally, I'd hate to see that. It's hard enough for commuters to rush from subway to railroad in the time allotted, I would not like to see that sprint turn into a marathon run. But, I was thinking in light of the LIRR's record of achievement during inclement weather, if they were to move into the old Post Office, they would need to change that famous inscription above the doors or face false advertising charges. You know the insription,
"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"