Some LIRR cancellations, but few afternoon delays after morning disruptions

The Long Island Rail Road announced several cancellations and changes on its Port Jefferson line because it is short of diesel equipment. Among those were the cancellations of trains scheduled to leave Long Island City at 3:15 p.m. and 4:58 p.m. The 4:22 p.m. and 5:43 p.m. trains from LIC are scheduled on time. The 2:55 from Ronkonkoma to Grand Central has also been cancelled.  

The 6:43 p.m. train from Hunterspoint Avenue has also been canceled. LIRR is recommending riders take the 6:40 p.m. train from Long Island City to Oyster Bay from Hunterspoint Avenue, transfer at Jamaica to the 7:04 p.m. train to Huntington, and then transfer at Huntington to the 8:16 p.m. to Port Jefferson.

But after multiple delays and cancellations caused morning rush-hour disruptions Tuesday, most trains were running on or close to on time ahead of the evening commute, according to the commuter railroad’s website.

As of 3:20 p.m., delays were being reported on the Montauk and Oyster Bay, with the most pronounced being on the Ronkonkoma branch, where the 2:55 train was cancelled "due to equipment trouble," the railroad said. 

Earlier in the day, the railroad had cautioned commuters of delays of up to an hour, as well as some cancellations, on several lines. Ongoing cleanup from the weekend storm was blamed for the disruptions.

Just before 11 a.m., the railroad announced that buses would replace trains on the ‌Oyster Bay Branch between ‌Mineola and ‌‌East Williston in both directions due to weather-related switch trouble but trains were stopping at all of the branch's stations as of this afternoon, according to the website. 

"Customers can anticipate cancellations and delays [Tuesday] due to ongoing weather-related switch and equipment trouble," the MTA said on its website.

The MTA had announced plans to return to normal service Tuesday following weekend service disruptions during the storm.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.