ICYMI: Governor Hochul Announces LIRR Smashes Seven-Day Ridership Record During Ryder Cup Week With More Than 1.8 Million Riders

LIRR Achieves Single-Day Post Pandemic High With 306,735 Riders on Friday, Sept. 26; Highest Post Pandemic Saturday With 181,411 Riders

154,098 Golf Fans Take Trains to Ryder Cup

Governor Hochul today announced that the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) carried 1.81 million riders last week between Monday, Sept. 22 and Sunday, Sept. 28, the highest number of customers in a single week since the pandemic, thanks in part to strong ridership to and from the 2025 Ryder Cup. This milestone exceeds the railroad's most recent post-pandemic seven-day ridership record of 1.77 million riders set during the last week of August.

"World-class transit service and world-class golf were a winning pairing this week on Long Island," Governor Hochul said. "The LIRR is the lifeblood of communities from Jamaica to Greenport, and there is no better way to get to work, school or major events than riding the rails. By delivering more frequent and reliable service, we've seen consistent ridership growth all year, and this record week is the latest milestone in a strong 2025 for riders on Long Island."

On Friday, Sept. 26, the LIRR carried 306,735 riders, achieving the highest single-day record post pandemic, including an approximate total of 39,200 golf fans traveling to and from the Ryder Cup 2025 in Bethpage via the LIRR's Farmingdale station. The pre-pandemic 2019 average weekday ridership of 316,692 was the highest since 1949. Over the course of the week, 154,098 people traveled to the tournament on the LIRR.

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, "The real winner of the Ryder Cup is team LIRR, which delivered outstanding service and were rewarded with record ridership - 1.8 million passengers in a single week. It's a tremendous validation that transit in New York is on the right track five years after the pandemic."

MTA Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free said, "This is a historic moment for the LIRR. Behind the scenes of one of the world's most prestigious sporting events was the largest commuter railroad making it possible. The ridership numbers speak for themselves and we're proud of the work that LIRR employees put in to continue delivering exceptional service for daily riders - while also giving visitors a glimpse of New York's transit system beyond the city."

Held on Long Island for the first time, the 2025 Ryder Cup brought tens of thousands of golf fans and visitors to the region. This historic event was a significant boost to the local economy, further supported and elevated by the frequent and reliable train service provided by the LIRR, which provided a fast, affordable and hassle-free travel option.

To accommodate the increased demand, the LIRR added nine extra trains to Farmingdale for the Ryder Cup, and seven more trains added stops at Farmingdale. The LIRR's on-time performance for the Ronkonkoma Branch, the branch that services Farmingdale, is 95.4 percent in 2025, on par with the railroad's record-high systemwide on-time performance of 96.3 percent.

To encourage easy and affordable travel on the LIRR, the railroad sold special 2025 Ryder Cup event tickets at a cost of $175, which provided fans unlimited travel to and from any LIRR station from Monday, Sept. 22 through Monday, Sept. 29. A total of 1,460 were purchased.

The ridership highs reflect the railroad's increasing customer satisfaction rate and record-breaking on-time performance statistics. Overall customer satisfaction with the railroad reached 81 percent in the spring of 2025, up five percentage points from the fall 2024, when it reached 76 percent, which was itself a six-point increase from spring 2024's rate of 70 percent. Ridership has risen on the LIRR throughout 2025. Total ridership for the month of July was 7.3 million customers - 91.1 percent of 2019 levels and a post-pandemic record.

The LIRR brought millions of travelers to see Post Malone, The Lumineers, Blackpink and other concerts at Citi Field, Phish, Mumford & Sons and Chappell Roan 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 Long Island beaches.