Extra Thanksgiving Service
Planning on heading home early to start your Thanksgiving holiday? Or has your group made a tradition out of going into Manhattan for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? Well, if you fit either description, we'll be trying to help by providing some extra service.

During Wednesday afternoon's (November 26) getaway period, extra eastbound holiday eve trains will run from Penn Station and Hunterspoint Avenue. They consist of:

• Three trains to Babylon
• Two to Huntington
• One each to Hicksville, Great Neck and Far Rockaway
• One to Montauk (from Hunterspoint Avenue)

Thursday morning, November 27, (Thanksgiving Day) we will provide extra westbound "parade" trains, including:

• Two from Wantagh (7:13 AM & 7:43 AM)
• Two from Ronkonkoma (6:29 AM & 7:08 AM)
• One from Speonk (6:09 AM)
• One from Port Jefferson (6:39 AM)

We also run extra trains back to Long Island after the parade:

• Four on the Ronkonkoma Branch
• Three on the Babylon Branch
• One to Huntington
• One to Port Jefferson
• One Montauk Branch train terminating at Speonk.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, the unofficial kickoff day for holiday shopping, we will operate on a regular weekday schedule, but off-peak fares will be in effect all day. The details are available in your branch timetable.

We wish a very happy Thanksgiving to all ... and please remember that no alcohol will be allowed on LIRR trains from 8 PM Wednesday, November 26 through 8 AM Thursday, November 27.

Felony Assault
The crews on your trains have numerous responsibilities beyond ticket selling and ticket taking. They are responsible for many technical and diagnostic tasks, including:  brake tests, the safe operation of the doors, making announcements, troubleshooting equipment during mechanical failure, communicating with Supervisors and Train Dispatchers via radio and/or cell phone, assisting mobility impaired customers as they enter or exit the train, and answering questions from customers who need assistance.
They are also responsible for summoning medical aid or police assistance if an emergency takes place on the train, and will often wait with a sick customer until medical aid arrives.
They have your safety, as well as their own, in their hands during every trip. Occasionally, in the course of carrying out their duties, our crews are assaulted.
Please be aware that train crews are protected by New York State Law, and assaulting them is a felony punishable by up to seven (7) years in prison.

SlipSlide Season
Our plans and methods for combatting SlipSlide conditions are in full swing. SlipSlide-ing occurs when train wheels crush leaves on our tracks, leaving an extremely slippery substance behind. We've been pro-active in dealing with this problem, removing excess vegetation along our tracks ... as well as scouring and adding the anti-slip agent "sandite" to our rails in affected areas. It all comes back to safety. When SlipSlide exists, we simply must slow our trains. While that can make some of our trains a little late ... it keeps you safe. That's our number one concern. For more details see our SlipSlide video.

New York Cares Coat Drive
For the 20th year, New York Cares and the LIRR are working together collecting coats to keep some of our neighbors-in-need warm. Here's how it works - from December 1 through December 31, volunteers at Penn Station will be on hand to accept, and then pass along, your clean, wearable winter clothing. If you want to take part, please bring your donations on any weekday in December (except Christmas Day) to the collection center near the 34th Street escalators from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM. Last year, the drive yielded more than 73,000 coats from caring New Yorkers. New York Cares, the LIRR ... and 73,000 warmer New Yorkers thank you.

Escalator Safety
Escalator Safety is our safety focus in November, and we suggest that you heed these safety tips:

• Check the direction of the escalator before stepping onto it
• Always hold the handrail
• Always hold children by the hand
• Stay clear of moving parts
• Stand upright, never lean or sit
• Do not place items on escalator steps
• Exit promptly, stepping over the landing plate

You can find all of these tips and more in our Escalator Safety brochure at all stations.

Holiday Train
On Saturday, November 22nd, come meet members of the world-famous Radio City Rockettes® at Rockville Centre and Babylon stations from 8-10, on our 2 holiday trains, or at Penn Station from 11-1. Join the free raffle for tickets to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular® or Wintuk by Cirque Du Soleil®. For details, and to find out about the LIRR packages to these shows, visit our website.

Here we are,
the human race -
Sharing a globe,
spinning thru space.
Yet in New York,
squeezed face to face -
Especially enroute,
from this to that place.
And at this time of year
when we're into 'thanks' giving
We can look all around -
overjoyed that we're living.
And imagine our pleasure
when some in our ranks
Are civil, decent, or kind
yesssssssss,
for THEM, we give thanks!

Monthly OTP
We posted an OTP of 95.04% in October, continuing a year full of improvement. After 10 months, our OTP for the AM Peak is 96.02%; the Off Peak is 95.47%; and the Overall OTP is 95.34%. Each of these totals represents our highest marks since modern record-keeping began 30 years ago.

BRANCH	AM Peak	PM Peak	Off- Peak	Total October 2008	Total October 2007
Babylon	97.6	93.9	94.5	95.0	93.5
Far Rockaway	97.2	98.6	98.3	98.2	95.8
Hicksville/Huntington	95.4	91.0	93.0	93.1	92.9
Hempstead	98.0	96.6	96.7	96.9	95.9
Long Beach	97.5	96.4	97.2	97.1	94.8
Montauk	94.0	96.9	94.1	94.4	91.1
Oyster Bay	98.1	88.4	90.9	91.8	91.2
Port Jefferson	92.4	93.8	92.3	92.6	93.3
Port Washington	94.4	97.5	96.9	96.6	97.0
Greenport/Ronkonkoma	96.6	95.4	89.4	91.7	91.8
West Hempstead	97.4	97.1	96.8	96.9	94.7
TOTAL	96.4	95.0	94.7	95.0	94.0

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