Broken rail that caused LIRR delays fixed

A broken rail east of the Bayside station that caused Thursday morning delays of up to 25 minutes on the Port Washington branch has been repaired, the Long Island Rail Road said.

Spokesman Sam Zambuto said the broken rail was discovered shortly before 8 a.m. and caused as many as 11 delays and at least one cancellation until about 9:30 a.m.

One train, the 8:21 a.m. from Penn Station due in Port Washington at 9:08 a.m., was more than 53 minutes late, held at Bayside to accommodate westbound traffic, the LIRR said.

The broken rail was repaired at about 11:30 a.m. and caused some delays up to 10 minutes in both directions from about 9:30 a.m.

The damaged rail was in an area of two tracks, so morning trains were able to operate in both directions on one track, Zambuto said. "But operating on one track, that's what caused the delays," he said.