Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the Long Island Rail Road will resume full rush hour service this afternoon on the Ronkonkoma, Port Jefferson and Oyster Bay Branches. Service on those branches was disrupted in the wake of a derailment east of New Hyde Park on Saturday night.
“The full restoration of service for Monday’s evening rush hour was made possible by the continuous efforts of the MTA and LIRR crews,” Governor Cuomo said. “I thank all of the employees who worked around the clock to restore train service so commuters can get where they need to go as easily and as efficiently as possible.”
Crews have been working non-stop since the derailment Saturday night, first using a crane to re-rail the derailed train and then moving it away from the site. They have also repaired damaged tracks and conducted the necessary inspections and tests to ensure that both tracks are safe for train travel.
At approximately 4:15 a.m., workers restored one of the Main Line’s two tracks in time for Monday morning’s rush hour, which allowed a resumption of limited, peak-direction train service. Eastbound service resumed at 9:15 a.m.
At 9:45 a.m. on Monday, the last of the cars from the derailed train were pulled away from the site. Workers have spent the hours since then inspecting the second track, making final repairs, and operating test trains to ensure the track is safe.
Workers have focused their attention today on repairing an intricate and cumbersome 25-foot segment of track near a switch that was damaged in the derailment. In fact, after the rush hour has concluded, workers will return to the site to perform additional permanent repairs that will allow trains to eliminate speed restrictions and allow trains to run at the usual maximum speed through this area.
Services Updates Available
The LIRR is urging its customers who use the three affected branches to gather information about transportation status and options on Monday morning before heading out. The LIRR will update customers in these ways:
- Website. The rail tab of the “Service Status” box at the left side of www.MTA.info is always the definitive source for the latest status for each branch, updated every minute. In addition, customers can visit www.mta.info/lirr to see special service notices in the upper center of the page.
- Email and text message service updates. Customers are urged to sign up to receive the alerts by visiting MyMTAAlerts.com. To avoid unwanted messages, a user can tailor the messages to the specific branch, and the specific times of day.
- @LIRR on Twitter. Twitter users can follow @LIRR to receive updates of a similar nature to the email and text alerts, shortened to fit Twitter’s format.
- LIRR Train Time. Customers who use the LIRR Train Time app will see up-to-the-minute status for each upcoming train at each station. As a caution, trains that start out their trips on time may experience delays en route.
- News media reports. LIRR customers are urged to listen to traffic and transit updates as the railroad will keep the media updated as new information becomes available.