electrification was extended to Hicksville, and to Huntington on the Port Jefferson Branch. In 1987, electrification of the Main Line between Hicksville and Ronkonkoma was completed, resulting in greatly increased service. The LIRR utilizes third rail electrification, which was the original method used by the PRR. By the 1930s, the PRR had switched to overhead catenary electrification, but the LIRR has continued utilizing its third rail system. Voltage was increased from to in the early 1970s to meet the greater power needs of the railroad's new M-1 cars. New York, Westchester and Boston Railway This railroad operation its suburban train service with electric service. The 4-track main line ran for from Westchester Ave. in New York to Mount Vernon, NY. From Mount Vernon the line split into two 2-track lines; one to New Rochelle, NY () and a second to White Plains, NY (). Reading Railroad Electrification on the Reading Railroad began during the late 1920s. The first stage was placed in operation on July 26, 1931, when electric suburban trains began serving the Bethlehem Branch between Reading Terminal, Philadelphia and Lansdale, the Doylestown Branch between Lansdale and Doylestown, the New Hope Branch between Glenside and Hatboro, and the Jersey City Branch between Jenkintown and West Trenton, New Jersey. The second stage, the Norristown and Chestnut Hill branches, was opened on February 5, 1933. Like the PRR Paoli commuter line, the Reading employed overhead catenary wire powered at , but unlike the PRR, the Reading used a single generator, located at Wayne Junction, with long-distance lines being supplied by spider-frame pylons that can still be seen, mostly along the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76). Extensions of electrification over intercity lines, such as West Trenton-Jersey City, Norristown-Reading-Harrisburg, and Lansdale-Bethlehem were planned, but because of the Great Depression, they were dropped. Only two expansion projects, carried out by the Reading with funding from SEPTA, were that of the Newtown Branch between Newtown Junction and Fox Chase in September 1966, and the Warminster Branch between Hatboro and Warminster in 1974. Since the takeover of the Reading commuter lines in 1983, SEPTA has rehabilitated the catenary wires between the Center City Commuter Connection and Wayne Junction, and on all ex-Reading tracks owned by SEPTA. Those sections of ex-Reading tracks owned by Conrail, and later by CSX, are being done on a step-by-step basis. Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad The Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad between Providence,