A waterfall of flooding cascaded down the Great Neck Long Island Rail Road Train Station Thursday, July 31, halting service for riders until the following morning.
The train station, which has tracks that fall below the street level, was flooded as water cascaded from the street level down the stairs and onto the tracks. The flooding was part of a larger flash flood warning that washed over the New York metropolitan area.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the New York metropolitan area on Thursday and the city issued a state of emergency in response. About 1.5-5 inches of rain were reported throughout the area, flooding Long Island Rail Road stations, subway stations, expressways and streets.
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The Great Neck station is the first Long Island stop coming from New York City along the Port Washington Branch. The Bayside train station, which is on the same branch, was also affected by flooding.
The MTA said service was restored to the Port Washington Branch by 6:30 a.m. Friday – the following morning.
To restore service, about 80 employees worked overnight Thursday and into the early hours Friday morning, which included laborers like plumbers, power, signal and track personnel, the MTA said.
The MTA said the street level flooding caused “wash out conditions,” washing away soil, ballast and railroad ties in the intense storm.
