Track safety adjustment underway

BY JENNIFER MALONEY | STAFF WRITER; Staff writer Joseph Mallia contributed to this story.

October 24, 2006

A rumbling machine crept along the LIRR track, lifting, shifting and shaking it. Behind the machine, rail workers stooped and measured. The result: The gap became smaller.

The crew yesterday was shifting 800 feet of track at Jamaica, one of seven stations slated for track adjustments to reduce wide gaps between platforms and trains.

Long Island Rail Road, state and federal officials began investigating the gap issue after the Aug. 5 death of Natalie Smead, 18, at the Woodside station and a subsequent Newsday investigation, which found gaps in the system as wide as 15 inches.

Though the investigations are not complete, the LIRR has begun to correct wide gaps at stations where track work will not disrupt service, said LIRR spokeswoman Susan McGowan.

The LIRR also plans to move tracks at the Deer Park, Hicksville, Huntington, Merillon Avenue, Mineola and New Hyde Park stations. The dates for that track work have not yet been set, McGowan said. Tracks at the Shea Stadium station were moved late last month.

Track adjustments are not currently scheduled for the Woodside station, where Smead died.

"We are looking at all of our stations and evaluating the measurements," McGowan said, referring to the railroad's survey of gaps throughout the system. "At stations where improvement can be reached ... through track resurfacing, we will make those improvements."

Of the 115 gap-related LIRR incidents reported in 2004 and 2005, 28 incidents - or 24 percent - occurred at Jamaica. In that period, six incidents occurred at Woodside.

The work on Jamaica's Track 7 is expected to be completed by tomorrow, McGowan said. Track 2 at Jamaica will be resurfaced by late November, she said.

The size of the horizontal and vertical gaps on Track 7 before and after the adjustments were not available yesterday, McGowan said.

Staff writer Joseph Mallia contributed to this story.

Shrinking the gap

The LIRR uses a specialized machine called a tamper car to nudge the tracks to the proper position closer to the platform.

1 A set of wheeled clamps grasps the rails and lifts the track up to the proper vertical or horizontal alignment, moving it from less than an inch to 4 ½ inches.

2 Fork-like tongs then dig into the ballast around one of the rail ties and push more stones under the tie. When the machine releases the rails, that segment will rest at the desired position. The process is repeated one rail tie at a time and can take one to four days.