Transit veteran Phil Eng will take over as the head of the Long Island Rail Road this weekend, sources say.

Eng replaces embattled Patrick Nowakowski, who is stepping down this week after a state report last month showed that LIRR performance was the worst it has been in 18 years.

Eng served as the interim head of New York City Transit before the agency brought on Andy Byford. Before that, he was the MTA’s Chief Officer of Operations. He was previously with the state Department of Transportation for more than two decades. There, he worked on the new Kosciuszko Bridge and the LIRR third-track project.

State Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Rockville Centre) said Eng needs to hit the ground running and immediately engage with riders.

“As a first order of business, the new LIRR President needs to personally come to Long Island and directly speak with commuters,” he said. “Riders feel disconnected with an agency that they see as removed and uncaring, and it is important that he have a firsthand understanding of the urgency underlying the tasks in front of him.”