NEW YORK — Rob Free, who has served as acting president of the Long Island Rail Road since last October, was named to the position permanently by Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber on Thursday.
Free, who began his career with the LIRR as a station cleaner 31 years ago, climbed the ranks to become chief transportation officer and senior vice president of operations before becoming president. The MTA credits him with instrumental roles in the start of service to Grand Central Madison, completion of the Main Line Third Track project that made possible a 41% increase in service, and the overhaul of the Long Island concourse at Penn Station.
“Rob Free was the natural choice for the job — a native Long Islander who’s committed his working life to the LIRR, rising through the ranks from cleaner to running operations to now leading North America’s busiest commuter railroad,” Lieber said in a press release. “Rob intrinsically understands the level of service customers expect, and I know he will continue to deliver in this now permanent role. I would also like to thank Cathy Rinaldi for helping to ease this transition, first serving as interim president of LIRR and then as an advisor to Rob.”
Free, who lives in Port Jefferson, N.Y., has commuted by train to work for 25 years.
“When I joined the LIRR as a 22-year-old station cleaner, I never imagined that one day I would be running this incredible organization,” Free said “It’s been an amazing journey so far and I am excited to continue to build on our successes and make the riding experience even better for Long Islanders. Ridership continues to climb, with weekdays routinely carrying 230,000-plus riders, as is on-time performance which has been above 95% for three straight months.”
