Overview
- Rob Free announced his retirement on Monday and will leave the Long Island Rail Road later this month with Newsday reporting a Nov. 20 effective date and amNewYork noting Dec. 1 as an alternate date.
- Free rose from a station cleaner in 1992 to LIRR president in 2024 and is credited with improving on-time performance to about 96% and restoring weekday ridership to roughly 102% of 2019 levels.
- He led the railroad through large capital milestones, including the first years of Grand Central Madison service, Main Line third-track work and a new Penn Station concourse.
- Free was a central figure in negotiations that ended the spring multiunion strike; the contract won about 14% raises over four years and required extensive closed-door bargaining.
- The MTA will name an interim leader while it conducts a nationwide search, with MTA policy chief John McCarthy named by sources as a possible candidate and board members praising Free’s institutional knowledge.