LIRR trains delayed by equipment trouble west of Jamaica, but problem slowly resolving

The Long Island Rail Road on Wednesday evening said it was clearing up rush hour delays that mainly affected eastbound trains after a diesel locomotive became disabled just west of Jamaica Station shortly after 6 p.m.

All branches except the Port Washington line were affected, though most eastbound trains were only delayed by 10 to 15 minutes, an LIRR spokesman said.

Local service was suspended for about 45 minutes to Jamaica from Penn Station.

"We're working through the backlog, we have all the tracks back and this should wind down as the rush hour proceeds," the spokesman said.

At least one westbound train also was delayed. The 5:53 p.m. train from Far Rockaway, which was scheduled to arrive at Penn Station at 6:47 p.m., was expected to be 44 minutes late due to late-arriving equipment, the LIRR Twitter feed said.