LIRR: Expect normal Monday service after derailment

Morning and afternoon rush-hour service on the Long Island Rail Road is expected to return to normal Monday after a week of disruptions and delays caused by a derailment in Queens, an LIRR spokesman said Sunday.

"We're on target," spokesman Salvatore Arena said. "Everything should be back to normal."

A three-quarter-mile stretch of track west of Forest Hills was severely damaged in the March 18 derailment, when four cars of an eight-car, non-passenger train came off the track.

Workers used special equipment to install concrete rail ties, laying new rails and spreading and leveling track bedding. The railroad has spent much of the past few days doing final testing.

The cause of the derailment remains under investigation.

In addition, the railroad is adding trains Monday afternoon because of the observance of Passover, which begins at sunset.