Long Island Rail Road: Rails fixed after delays during morning commute
Broken rails near Mineola and Wantagh were fixed Tuesday, but delays that began at the start of the morning rush hour commute lasted through the end of it, according to the Long Island Rail Road.
There were delays as long as 25 to 30 minutes in the morning through Mineola, the first reported rail break, which caused several cancellations. The Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma and Oyster Bay branches were affected, according to the railroad. That broken rail was fixed and trains were back on schedule after 1:10 p.m.
Through Wantagh, there were also scattered delays of 5 to 10 minutes on the Babylon Branch for another rail issue, reported shortly after 6:30 a.m and fully repaired after 12:30 p.m.
All westbound trains through Mineola made stops at Westbury, Carle Place, Mineola, Merillon Avenue, New Hyde Park and Jamaica. The railroad scheduled permanent repair work for after the morning rush, the LIRR said.
Broken rails are a common problem during the winter.
Cold weather contracts the steel and can snap it at the joints, Christopher Natale, general chairman of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen Local 56, told Newsday in 2014. The brotherhood's workers maintain LIRR signals.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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