Heading into the weekend after the fifth day of switch-fire-related service interruptions, Long Island Rail Road officials made no promises that the fix would be completed in time for the Monday morning commute. But the work crews are trying.
Weekend service is expected to be relatively normal compared to the more than 330 rush-hour trains that were cancelled over the past five days after a switching tower fire fried critical wires at the Jamaica station at around 11 a.m. Monday. Trains had been operating at 75 percent in the mornings and 68 percent in the evenings each day this week while the LIRR resorted to manual switching at the hub station.
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Damaged equipment has been replaced and repair crews working around the clock have completed about 25 percent of more than 300 tests that must be run to insure safe operation of the signal system, LIRR officials said late Friday. Testing on the 77 switching points and 53 signals controlled by the switching mechanism had uncovered additional damage that needed to be repaired, which slowed the recovery process.
“Only when we are convinced that all signal and switching components are operating properly, will we be able to restore regular train service and get your daily commute back to normal,” LIRR President Helena Williams said in a statement Thursday. “I want to thank you for your patience and cooperation during four very trying days. I assure you progress is being made to restore full service.”
But Williams could not say with certainty when service would return to 100 percent. LIRR officials cautioned that it is possible that further damage from Monday’s fire could be uncovered this weekend, requiring additional rewiring of switching equipment.
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The following trains will be replaced with buses this weekend: Between Valley Stream and West Hempstead; Locust Manor, Laurelton, and Rosedale to and from Jamaica; eastbound trains to Hollis and Queens Village on Saturday and westbound trains to these stations on Sunday with the same schedule for St. Albans.
Trains that usually transfer in Jamaica will do so at other station points east. Far Rockaway branch riders traveling to and from Penn Station will make connections at Valley Stream, as will Babylon Branch customers traveling to and from Atlantic Terminal. Oyster Bay branch riders traveling to LIRR western terminals will make their connections in Mineola.
The delays have caused countless headaches for tens of thousands of Long Island commuters on the nation’s largest commuter railroad, which serves 265,000 daily riders. Ten of the LIRR’s 11 lines pass through the Jamaica station, impacting service for the majority of riders except for those on the Port Washington line.
Riders are encouraged to keep abreast of service changes by logging on to www.mta.info/lirr where the public can sign up for e-mail and text alerts for the branch they ride. Riders can also call the LIRR’s info center in Nassau at 516-822-5477, Suffolk at 631-231-5477 or text CooCoo at 266266 for train schedules. Type in departure station and destination to receive the next five schedule trains, including trains canceled as a result of the necessary repair work.
The Travel Information Center’s TDD telephone number for the hearing impaired is 718-558-3022.
