Long Island Rail Road: Switch trouble causes bypass of Queens stations

Switch trouble at the Woodside station was causing 15- to 20-minute delays on eastbound LIRR trains Friday night, a problem that caused officials to direct trains to bypass the Woodside, Kew Gardens and Forest Hill stations.

The railroad posted updates on its Twitter page, where it also said shortly after 8 p.m. that NYC Transit was cross-honoring tickets on the E train at Penn Station, Jamaica (SutphinBoulevard and Archer Avenue), Kew Gardens (Union Turnpike), and Forest Hills (71st Avenue); and on the 7 train at Woodside (61st Street).

Customers headed for Woodside could use the Port Washington branch, the railroad said.

Earlier in the day the Babylon and Montauk branches of the LIRR were experiencing delays of 15 to 20 minutes due to an investigation at Rockville Centre, the railroad said.

The investigation involves "an unauthorized person" who was struck by a train and a medical examiner was on scene, the Long Island Rail Road said. Further details were not provided in an advisory to commuters. 

But by 5 p.m., the railroad said police had completed their investigation and that service would be restored, though it said commuters were encountering residual delays on the Babylon branch.