LIRR Ridership Surges as the Fall Season Begins: Surpasses 300,000 in One Day for First Time Since Pandemic

LIRR Carries 301,440 Riders on Wednesday, Sept. 24

20,000 Golf Fans Take Trains to Ryder Cup

The Long Island Railroad (LIRR) today announced that Long Island Rail Road ridership shattered its most recent post-pandemic ridership record on Wednesday, Sept. 24, with 301,440 riders enjoying a clean, fast and on-time service, including approximately 20,000 golf fans traveling to and from the Ryder Cup 2025 in Bethpage via the LIRR's Farmingdale station.

This follows a summer that saw the LIRR repeatedly break post-pandemic daily ridership records carrying 298,419 passengers on Wednesday, July 23 and 295,419 passengers on Tuesday, July 22. Since the beginning of June, the railroad carried more than 290,000 riders in a day six times with average monthly ridership for June, July and August in excess of 265,000.

"It's not that complicated - 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," said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. "Today the LIRR is carrying more people per day than the entire population of St. Louis - and with the highest customer satisfaction in years."

"People are coming back to the LIRR because of the exceptional service, as they know a fantastic customer experience is there for them," said LIRR President Rob Free. "The highest on-time performance in the railroad's long history and clean, safe, and comfortable trains that are the best way to travel to everything that Long Island has to offer."

The ridership highs reflect the railroad's increasing customer satisfaction rate and record-breaking on-time performance statistics. Through the first half of the year, 96.6% of trains reached their destination on time, the railroad's best rate in its history outside of pandemic years, and nine tenths of a percentage point above last year's rate of 95.7%, covering the same period of the year.

The LIRR saw its busiest seven-day period since the pandemic, with a total of 1.77 million passengers riding between Monday, Aug. 25, and Sunday, Aug. 31. The pre-pandemic 2019 average weekday ridership of 316,692 was the highest since 1949.

Overall customer satisfaction with the railroad reached 81% in the spring of 2025, up five percentage points from the fall 2024, when it reached 76%, which was itself a six-point increase from spring 2024's rate of 70%.

The LIRR brought millions of travelers to see Post Malone, The Lumineers, Blackpink and other concerts at Citi Field, Phish, Mumford & Sons and the Black Keys at Forest Hills Stadium, every Mets home game, the U.S. Open, and hundreds of Manhattan events this summer along with smooth, reliable service to the Hamptons and all the other Long Island beaches.

Nine extra trains are part of expanded service to the Ryder Cup this week, and seven more trains have added Farmingdale stops.

In addition to excellent service, the LIRR Concourse at Penn Station is overflowing with a wide variety of dining and retail options. Tracks Raw Bar & Grill opened recently at Grand Central Madison, the first of many new retail and dining options that will be available at the LIRR's east side terminal.