Babylon LIRR branch rail snaps in cold

A rail that was snapped in bitter cold Friday caused delays, track changes and at least two cancellations on the Babylon branch of the Long Island Rail Road, officials said.

Railroad spokesman Aaron Donovan said the broken rail, near a junction of tracks including the Far Rockaway Branch in Valley Stream, was detected by the engineer of the westbound 6:26 a.m. train from Massapequa Park and reported at 7:06 a.m.

A temporary fix - including a 30-mph speed restriction - was placed on the track.

Donovan said crews are working to repair the track by late morning and said the evening rush hour will likely not be affected.

He said the rail became brittle because of the frigid temperatures. The National Weather Service said a record low of 9 degrees was recorded at Long Island MacArthur Airport on Friday.

By 9:45 a.m., the railroad announced that trains on the Babylon branch were running on or close to schedule.

Earlier, eastbound customers traveling from the City Terminal Zone to St. Albans had to transfer to buses at Jamaica. The broken rail also forced the cancellation of the 7:48 a.m. train from Wantagh, which was scheduled to arrive at Penn Station at 8:40 a.m. Officials said those riders were accommodated by the following train from Babylon, scheduled to arrive in Wantagh at 7:51 a.m.

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However, that train services the Atlantic Terminal - and so officials said customers were to transfer at Jamaica for a train to Penn Station.

A later train also was canceled.