Official: LIRR back on schedule by Friday

Finally, good news for Long Island Rail Road commuters: The service is expected to return to its normal schedule in time for Friday morning's rush hour, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

"That's the latest we're hearing," LIRR spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said. "Back to normal by Friday morning."

Wednesday marked the third day of disruptions as crews worked to repair damage caused by a Sunday Amtrak derailment.

A disabled Amtrak train in an East River tunnel Wednesday afternoon also delayed two eastbound trains from Penn Station, an LIRR spokesman said.

The 1:05 p.m. due in Babylon at 2:20 p.m. was expected to be about an hour late; the 1:14 p.m. due in Ronkonkoma at 2:38 was scheduled to be 47 minutes late.

The LIRR's Sam Zambuto said the disabled train was not related to the repairs being made by the Amtrak crews. The train was back in operation shortly after 2 p.m., Zambuto said.

For Wednesday night, the agency said there would be a significantly reduced schedule from Penn Station.

SEE PHOTOSLIRR trains and commuters through the years

Of the 87 trains that normally operate out of Penn Station, 20 will be canceled and combined with other trains, a news release said.

Trains are expected to be more crowded than normal, with waiting times between 10 and 20 minutes.

Also, westbound service to Penn Station will terminate at Jamaica, and Port Washington branch trains will terminate at Woodside starting at about 4:30 p.m.

New York City Transit will honor train tickets at Jamaica for the E line and at Woodside for the No. 7 line to New York, the LIRR said.

Customers heading to lower Manhattan should use the J and Z lines, rather than the E from Jamaica, the LIRR said.

Wednesday evening eastbound trains headed to Far Rockaway will originate from the Atlantic Terminal.

The afternoon update by the LIRR said the ability "to restore full service on Friday morning is directly dependent on the progress of Amtrak's repairs."

The LIRR said it is "in constant communication with Amtrak and is assessing Amtrak's ability to meet the deadline to restore full service Friday morning."

Repairs include Amtrak crews replacing 275 damaged track ties, the LIRR said.

"Once repairs are completed, testing must also be performed before the tunnel can be restored for train service," the release said.

The LIRR told customers Wednesday morning that 22 trains would be canceled or diverted to other terminals and trains would be delayed between 10 and 20 minutes.

"There was some pain again," Anders said. "But it wasn't a meltdown. It's organized and people know what to expect."

Sunday's five-car train, which was not carrying passengers when it derailed at 60 mph, was not cleared out of the tunnel until Monday evening. Amtrak had hoped to begin the repairs Monday afternoon.

Crews are working around the clock, a spokesman said.

"We've been working on it since we cleared the fifth car [Monday]," Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said.

The following eastbound evening rush-hour trains will be canceled:

Babylon branch

The 4:04 p.m. train from Penn Station due in Babylon at 5:05 p.m. is canceled. Customers can take the 4:12 p.m. train from Penn Station to Massapequa Park, which will be extended to Babylon.

The 4:34 p.m. train from Penn Station due in Babylon at 5:39 p.m. is canceled. Customers can take the 4:37 p.m. train from Penn Station due in Babylon at 5:52 p.m., which will make all combined stops.

The 4:52 p.m. train from New York due in Babylon at 5:55 p.m. is canceled. Customers can take the 5:03 p.m. train from New York to Wantagh, which will be extended to Babylon.

The 5:19 p.m. train from New York due in Wantagh at 6:06 p.m. is canceled. Customers can take the 5:24 p.m. train from New York to Freeport, which will be extended to Wantagh.

The 5:40 p.m. train from New York due in Seaford at 6:30 p.m. is canceled. Customers can take the 5:47 p.m. from New York to Freeport, which will be extended to Seaford.

The 6:05 p.m. from Penn Station due in Wantagh at 6:51 p.m. is canceled. Customers can take the 6:10 p.m. to Freeport, which will be extended to Wantagh.

The 6:33 p.m. from Penn Station due in Babylon at 7:35 p.m. is canceled. Customers can take the 6:36 p.m. to Wantagh, which will be extended to Babylon.

Port Washington branch

The 4:22 p.m. train from New York due in Port Washington at 4:58 p.m. is canceled. Commuters can take the 4:25 p.m. train from New York to Great Neck, which will be extended to Port Washington.

The 4:43 p.m. train from Penn Station due in Port Washington at 5:21 p.m. is canceled. Customers can take the 4:46 p.m. train from Penn Station to Great Neck, which will be extended to Port Washington.

The 5:11 p.m. train from Penn Station due in Port Washington at 5:47 p.m. is canceled. Customers can take the 5:14 p.m. from Penn Station to Great Neck, which will be extended to Port Washington.

The 5:26 p.m. train from Penn Station due in Port Washington at 6:04 p.m. is canceled. Customers can take the 5:29 p.m. to Great Neck, which will be extended to Port Washington.

The 5:50 p.m. train from Penn Station due in Great Neck at 6:19 p.m. is canceled. Customers can take the 5:56 p.m. train from Penn Station to Great Neck, which will make all combined stops.

The 6:11 p.m. train from Penn Station due in Port Washington at 6:48 p.m. is canceled. Customers can take the 6:14 p.m. to Great Neck, which will be extended to Port Washington.

The 6:24 p.m. train from Penn Station due Port Washington at 7:04 p.m. is canceled. Customers can take the 6:42 p.m. train from Penn Station to Great Neck, which will be extended to Port Washington.

The 7:01 p.m. train from Penn Station due in Port Washington at 7:36 p.m. is canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 7:14 p.m. train from Penn Station to Great Neck, which will be extended to Port Washington.

Long Beach branch

The 4:40 p.m. train from Penn Station due in Long Beach at 5:37 p.m. is canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 5 p.m. train from Penn Station to Long Beach.

The 5:20 p.m. train from Penn Station due in Long Beach at 6:11 p.m. is canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 5:23 p.m. train from New York to Long Beach, which will make all combined stops.

Huntington

/Port Jefferson Branch

The 3:27 p.m. train from Penn Station due in Huntington at 4:33 p.m. is canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 3:43 p.m. train from Penn Station to Huntington, which will make all combined stops.

The 6:30 p.m. train from New York due in Huntington at 7:32 p.m. is canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 6:35 p.m. from New York to Hicksville, which will be extended to Huntington.

Ronkonkoma branch

The 4:54 p.m. train from New York due in Farmingdale at 5:56 p.m. is canceled. Customers can take the 5:01 p.m. train from New York to Ronkonkoma, which will make all added stops.

On the Far Rockaway branch, all evening peak service will depart from the Atlantic Terminal.

The three Far Rockaway trains that normally leave from Penn Station -- the 4:42 p.m., 5:32 p.m. and 6:02 p.m. -- will instead depart from Atlantic Terminal at the same times, arriving at Far Rockaway at 5:40 p.m., 6:24 p.m. and 6:58 p.m. respectively.

Also, there will be several changes in the stopping patterns during the evening rush hour.

Woodside stops will be removed from some trains and added to others, and some Forest Hills and Kew Gardens stops will be added.

All Port Jefferson trains will make an added stop at Hicksville and Huntington.

All Oyster Bay trains will make an added stop at Mineola.

All Long Beach trains will make an added stop at Valley Stream.

The Montauk-bound 6:17 p.m. train from Jamaica will make an added stop at Babylon.