LIRR: Amtrak derailment issues fixed

An afternoon derailment of an Amtrak train just outside an East River tunnel caused commuting headaches for Long Island Rail Road customers Monday.

An Amtrak train traveling from Washington to Boston "experienced a low-speed derailment" in Long Island City, Queens, just east of Penn Station around 12:25 p.m. There were 147 passengers on board, and no reported injuries, according to Amtrak.

The train remained derailed through the evening rush, blocking the LIRR's access to one of the two eastbound tunnels out of Penn Station used by the LIRR.

Late Monday night, LIRR officials said, the derailment problem had been fixed and they anticipated no delays Tuesday.

But earlier in the evening rush, with limited capacity to operate, the LIRR canceled 16 peak trains last night out of the 125 it typically runs. LIRR officials said they expected crowding on some of the trains that did run.

"We share the tunnels and Penn Station with both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit. So when something happens to one of the carriers, it sometimes has an impact on all of us," LIRR spokesman Joe Calderone said. "It's a very delicate choreography each night."

Amtrak spokesman Clifford Cole said earlier Monday that the cause of the derailment "is still under investigation."

"Amtrak regrets any inconvenience," the company said in a statement to customers Monday.