LIRR President Rob Free, who started as a station cleaner, will step down Nov. 20 after 34 years

Rob Free, president of the Long Island Rail Road, will step down on Friday, Nov. 20, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber announced Monday, Nov. 9, amNewYork and News 12 reported. The MTA says it will run a nationwide search for his successor.

Free spent 34 years at the railroad, the nation's largest commuter line. He started as a station cleaner at Jamaica Station, held jobs including senior vice president of operations, and was named acting president in October 2023 before getting the top job the following April. Newsday, which first reported the departure, said his official retirement date is Dec. 1, according to amNewYork.

His record, by the MTA's numbers

• On-time performance: 96%, the best in more than a decade, Lieber said.
• Ridership: weekday ridership at 102% of pre-COVID levels; in June and September 2026 monthly ridership beat the same months of 2019, amNewYork reported.
• Grand Central Madison: Free oversaw its first three years of service.
• Projects finished during his tenure: the Main Line third track, which amNewYork says boosted service by 41%, and the new LIRR concourse at Penn Station.

Lieber called Free's record "a model to everyone who wears the LIRR uniform."

The strike

Free also steered the LIRR through its first strike in more than three decades: a three-day walkout by five unions representing about 3,500 workers, roughly half the workforce. It stranded tens of thousands of commuters, and ended with a deal that included 14% raises over the four-year contract, amNewYork reported. Lisa Daglian of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA credited his "steady hand" through storms, negotiations and the pandemic recovery.

What's next

The MTA says it will search nationwide for the LIRR's next president. Whoever gets the job inherits Grand Central Madison and a railroad that now carries more weekday riders than before the pandemic.