Riders navigate the first weekday of a strike that has shut down the largest US commuter rail system

[Omaha Steve]

https://apnews.com/article/long-island-rail-road-strike-5d37125e259c21d766f1f25c1c846cdf

By PHILIP MARCELO and KATHY McCORMACK
Updated 5:46 PM CDT, May 18, 2026
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HICKSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — Commuters in New York City’s suburbs had to navigate a gauntlet of car, bus and subway routes to get to and from work Monday, with a labor strike shutting down the Long Island Rail Road, the busiest commuter rail system in the country.

Unions representing rail workers and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the railroad, were still negotiating Monday evening after failing to come to an agreement through the weekend despite pressure from the National Mediation Board and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Hallie Kessler, a 24-year old speech therapist, had expected her usual one-hour commute home from a public school in the New York City borough of Queens to double in length because of the strike.

Instead, it tripled. And rather than just one LIRR train, she took two trains and then a shuttle bus.

FULL story and video at link.