Long Island Rail Road service resumed Tuesday after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and five striking unions reached a late-night agreement ending the first LIRR strike in 32 years.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the deal shortly before 9 p.m. Monday following a full day of negotiations between union leaders and MTA officials at the agency’s Manhattan headquarters. The strike had shut down the nation’s busiest commuter railroad beginning Saturday, disrupting service for hundreds of thousands of riders across Long Island and New York City.
Under the restoration plan announced Monday night, service on the Port Washington, Huntington, Ronkonkoma and Babylon branches resumed at noon Tuesday. Remaining branches returned to normal weekday service by 4 p.m., according to LIRR President Rob Free. Shuttle buses arranged by the MTA continued operating Tuesday morning while crews restored rail operations.
Details of the agreement were not immediately released, although Hochul said the deal was reached without fare increases or tax hikes. Negotiations had focused largely on wages and healthcare contributions for union employees.
The five unions involved represent about half of the LIRR’s 7,000-member workforce. Both sides had previously agreed on retroactive wage increases covering 2023 through 2025, but remained divided over pay raises for 2026 and proposed changes to healthcare contributions for new hires.
MTA officials maintained that meeting the unions’ demands would place major financial pressure on the transit system and could lead to higher fares or service cuts. Union leaders argued workers were seeking compensation that kept pace with rising living costs.
Negotiators returned to the bargaining table early Monday morning after talks failed to produce an agreement over the weekend. Discussions continued throughout the day and into the evening before a final agreement was reached, bringing the three-day strike to an end.