LIRR President Phil Eng Resigning

According to a union head, Phil Eng will announce his resignation today.

Rinaldi's going to head MetroNorth and the LIRR until the Governor can find another political hack for what will be the temporary job.

Or they’ll leave her atop both and create a new lead VP for both. They’ve dreamed of combining them for decades.

Combined operations at GCT and Penn might be the excuse to pull it off.

NEWSDAY 1/11/2022

I had the pleasure of meeting him a couple times. He did good, but IMHO, LIRR is still a disaster, just judging from all the daily breakdown emails. I may be returning to commuting soon, and I dread it for a variety of reasons. Among them, the C3 cars that were junk when new, and now, what, pushing 25 years old? I guess I'll find out whether the seats are now 100% covered in duct tape. The DE's / DM's, which appear to be breaking down en route at least as much. The overall shortage of diesel equipment. Still not knowing whether it will even be practical for diesel country passengers to transfer to / from GCT, or whether schedules will improve with the 3rd track in service. Or if the PJ branch will ever get decent service. Or the bulk of the M9's, let alone the what, M9A's ever make it into daily service. Etc.

This is upsetting for me as I met Mr. Eng a number of times in person, sometimes to go over some of my proposals for the railroad via letters and press conferences. Hoping the LIRR is able to utilize most of the ideas I mentioned now that a new governor oversees the MTA.

Both Laura Curren and Richard Kessel have been mentioned as a possible permanent replacement along with Assemblywoman Tremaine Wright.

Immense Democratic Party talent there. Tremendous railroad operations experience too.

Photobug, your problems will all soon be solved.

At least Phil Eng was from Suffolk. Had reason to care about service in Suffolk, though nothing came of it. Curren has no reason to care, and Kessel, from my view, has the reverse Midas touch.

Patch Hog wrote: ↑Thu Feb 10, 2022 2:37 pm Or they’ll leave her atop both and create a new lead VP for both. They’ve dreamed of combining
them for decades. Combined operations at GCT and Penn might be the excuse to pull it off.

MTA Railroad was the name of the combined operating subsidiary.

Re: the possible candidates, Laura Curran is a nice lady but probably knows nothing about running a railroad. Richard Kessel might be a reasonable contender. Although not a railroader, he has experience running a large public utility. And before today I never heard of Assemblywoman Tremaine Wright. Where is she from?

Tremaine Wright owned a coffee shop in Bedford-Stuyvesant, a few blocks from Nostrand Avenue station. Sold good coffee, but quickly went broke.

Kessel was ousted from LIPA under allegations of bid rigging and corruption. Curran failed to win reelection after backpedaling a reassessment fiasco that raised 55% of Nassau's taxes 30% or more.

There was a time when Kessel rode the Railroad every day, belittling trainmen and calling with complaints every day. He was given the State job to shut him up. Curran rode a couple of times after moving here from Canada while Tremaine watched trains go by on Atlantic Avenue.

I think it's a smart move to consolidate where possible between LIRR and MNCR. No sense paying two sets of executives and all the back-office staff. Operating staff likely wouldn't feel it at all.

K&K are correct. Kessel got his political career started by viciously attacking LIRR service but more importantly its frontline employees. Newsday considered him their famous quotation piece.

You can look it up.

MTA Board member Carol Bellamy (remember "Fair Fare?") was another shill. Both she and "Richie" profiteered from their antics handsomely