The NSS was a two-year study that helped shape the service the LIRR will offer in 25 years.

The study was to help predict ridership patterns from 2025 through 2040, and envision ideas to meet future ridership demands. The last study of its kind, conducted in the early 1990s, inspired the LIRR’s fleet of double-decker train cars and the decision to go forth with East Side Access — the MTA’s $10.2 billion effort to bring the railroad to Grand Central Terminal.

This study was a more extensive and detailed look and involves very close coordination and information gathering with Long Island County officials and the public on their vision for expectations of LIRR’s future, and modeling possible solutions through operation simulation, ridership forecasting and financial analysis. Issues addressed included expanded electrification throughout the LIRR system, accessibility, and maximum capacity issues constraining the longest commutes.

The solutions involve increasing the number of available tracks, improving existing infrastructure, and modernizing stations, rails, and switchboards. Since the conclusion of the impact study, modernization projects have begun along the LIRR to extend and improve service.

PACO Group provided construction cost estimates, CPM scheduling, and project administration for the Network Strategy Study (NSS) conducted on the Long Island Railroad system for a variety of the study’s intended impact locations.