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2/11/2022
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced yesterday that Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) President Phil Eng will retire on Feb. 25. Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi will take on the role of interim president and continue as president of Metro-North.
Eng served as LIRR president for four years; Rinaldi has also served as Metro-North president for four years. In a letter to MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber, Eng said he knows he is leaving LIRR “well-positioned for continued success.” He will remain in an advisory role until March 11, MTA officials said in a press release.
Eng joined MTA in 2017 after working for the New York State Department of Transportation. He was chief operating officer and concurrently acting president for MTA New York City Transit before coming to LIRR.
“It is an honor and a privilege to culminate my nearly 39 years of public service in New York as president of MTA Long Island Rail Road,” Eng wrote. “I will always fondly look back on my time working with the MTA family as one of the highlights of my career.”
Rinaldi's career includes serving as LIRR’s vice president and general counsel from 2008 to 2011, as well as a stint as MTA’s deputy executive director, general counsel and chief of staff and counsel. She will oversee the expansion of LIRR service, including the opening of service to Grand Central Terminal later in 2022 as part of the East Side Access project.
“Cathy Rinaldi is a proven leader with nearly twenty years of experience at the MTA, having served in leadership positions at headquarters and both commuter railroads,” Lieber said during a press conference held yesterday at Grand Central. “At Metro-North, she has led efforts to improve system reliability, achieve excellent customer service, and continue the intensive infrastructure work essential to maintaining system safety.”