LIRR President to Retire Later This Month
NEW YORK—The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced on Monday that Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free will retire on Nov. 20 after 34 years with the railroad. Mr. Free, whose first job at the LIRR was cleaning Jamaica Station, served as LIRR President since 2023.
“Under Rob Free, the Long Island Rail Road has delivered better service, for more riders than ever,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “He has positioned this agency to continue delivering fast, frequent, and reliable service for years to come. His extraordinary record of service is a model to everyone who wears the LIRR uniform.”
Mr. Free departs after a remarkable career at the Long Island Rail Road. A Port Jefferson native, he led operations through the COVID-19 pandemic and touched nearly every corner of the agency in between, according to the MTA.
Since Mr. Free began leading the agency in 2023, on-time performance reached 96%, the highest level in more thn a decade, public safety in the system reached new heights and weekday ridership soared to 102% of pre-COVID levels. He also oversaw the first three years of service to Grand Central Madison, the country’s first major new station in more than a half century.
Mr. Free served as Acting LIRR President beginning in October 2023 until being named LIRR’s 42nd President in April 2024. He succeeded Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi who served as Interim LIRR President from February of 2022 to October 2023.
As Chief Transportation Officer, he was responsible for more than 2,000 employees and maintaining efficient systemwide train operations, coordinating the many track outages that allowed significant projects such as Ronkonkoma Branch Double Track and State of Good Repair maintenance to progress. As Senior Vice President, he was responsible for more than 7,000 employees in Rolling Stock Maintenance, Train Movement, Maintenance of Way, Service Planning, Security and Station Operations. The MTA will conduct a nationwide search for Mr. Free’s successor.
Published: November 11, 2026.