LIRR disruptions expected into midweek

Long Island Rail Road customers face at least another two days of delays, cancellations and crowded conditions as crews work to repair extensive track damage caused by an Amtrak train derailment inside an East River tunnel.

The LIRR canceled or diverted about two dozen trains yesterday morning, and another 20 during the peak evening hours as it routed trains around the derailment Sunday afternoon under First Avenue.

LIRR officials said Monday evening that all derailed cars had been put back on the tracks, but repair work would continue to hamper service.

Officials said they expect similar disruptions Tuesday and Wednesday, with the goal of returning to normal sometime Thursday. During Tuesday's morning rush, 22 trains will either be canceled or diverted to other terminals and there will be scattered 10- to-20 minute delays, the LIRR said.

Westbound service into Penn Station from Jamaica and Woodside will be suspended during the evening commute to allow for more capacity to run eastbound trains.

The New York City subway system is honoring LIRR tickets on the E train to New York at Jamaica and at Woodside on the No. 7 line.

"We're always concerned about the impact on customers," LIRR president Helena Williams said. "Customers want to get from point A to point B with no delays and no interruptions. Clearly, whenever we have one of these things, it's difficult on us."

SEE PHOTOSLIRR trains and commuters through the years

Four cars in the five-car train derailed. There were no passengers on the train, which was moving at 60 mph when it derailed, and nobody was injured.

"We've been doing our best to repair it. Our crews have been working around the clock," Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said. "Once . . . we get the equipment off the track, then it becomes the job of assessing whatever the damage is going to be." Cole said he expected that damage to be "extensive."

Amtrak is responsible for maintaining the tunnels and Penn Station. Workers likely have at least 40 hours of repairs ahead of them before LIRR service could return to normal, railroad officials said Monday.

Although the cause of the derailment was still being investigated, Amtrak president and chief executive Joseph Boardman said the cause is thought to be a broken rail.

"We see the rail that broke," Boardman said. "We don't know if it was a fatigue issue. . . . We'll get to the bottom of it pretty quickly."

The complex process of recovering from a significant train derailment is further hampered by the fact that the derailment happened in the tight confines of a 23-foot-wide tunnel, where some of the large equipment typically used to put a train back on the tracks will not fit. Instead, workers used smaller hydraulic lifts to put each rail car back on the tracks.

The cramped space also makes it hard to move equipment, including some 200 wooden rail ties needed to repair the damaged track, estimated to be 1,400 feet long, officials said.

Many regular LIRR users, accustomed to major service disruptions, took the complications in stride Monday.

"People are used to this. Things go wrong; it's a big system," Steven Bernstein, 73, of Long Beach, said Monday. "As long as it's not life-threatening, you'll manage. Snowstorm, derailment, you'll manage."

Mike Tonn, 48, of West Islip, played Scrabble on his iPad while waiting for his 4:49 p.m. train out of Penn Station. "I'm one of the lucky ones," he said. "I take the Babylon line, so there's always connections."

But Jessica Zipkin, 30, of Great Neck, who teaches third-graders in Manhattan, said the kinks in the LIRR schedule were worrisome because she has a young child at home. "I'm a little anxious right now," she said.

With Tania Lopez, Emily Ngo and Maria Alvarez

Port Washington Branch

The 6:17 a.m. train from Port Washington, due in Penn Station at 7:03 a.m., is canceled

The 7:22 a.m. Little Neck train due in Penn Station at 7:55 AM, is canceled.

The 7:36 a.m. train from Port Washington, due in Penn Station at 8:11 a.m., is canceled.

The 8:24 a.m. Great Neck train due in Penn Station at 8:59 AM is canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 8:18 AM Port Washington train due in Penn Station at 9:02 AM, making all combined stops.

The 8:58 a.m. train from Great Neck, due in Penn Station at 9:34 a.m., is canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 8:45 a.m. train from Port Washington, due in Penn Station at 9:20 a.m., which will make all combined stops.

Babylon Branch

The 5:56 a.m. train from Babylon, due in NY at 6:59 a.m., will be diverted to Atlantic Terminal.

The 6:14 a.m. train from Massapequa Park, due in Penn Station at 7:08 AM, is canceled.

The 6:42 a.m. Babylon train due in Penn Station at 7:49 a.m. , is canceled.

The 6:57 a.m. train from Freeport, due in Penn Station at 7:40 a.m., will be diverted to Atlantic Terminal.

The 7:29 a.m. train from Freeport, due in Penn Station at 8:13 AM, will be canceled at Jamaica.

The 7:37 a.m. train from Babylon, due in Penn Station at 8:48 a.m., will be canceled at Jamaica.

The 7:43 a.m. train from Merrick, due in Penn Station at 8:31 AM, is canceled.

The 8:10 a.m. train from Freeport, due in Penn Station at 8:50 a.m., is canceled. 

The 8:25 a.m. train from Freeport, due in Penn Station at 9:08 AM, will be diverted to Atlantic Terminal.

The 8:35 a.m. train from Babylon, due in Penn Station at 9:37 a.m., will be canceled at Jamaica.

Far Rockaway Branch

The 8:03 a.m. train from Valley Stream due in Penn Station at 8:42 AM is canceled.

The 8:10 a.m. train from Far Rockaway due in Penn Station at 9:05 AM is canceled.

Customers will be accommodated by the 8:21 a.m. train from Far Rockaway, to Penn Station, which will be diverted to Atlantic Terminal.

Long Beach Branch

The 8:03 a.m. train from Long Beach, due in Penn Station at 8:54 AM, is canceled.

Hempstead Branch

The 6:58 a.m. train from Hempstead, due in Penn Station at 7:52 AM, will be canceled at Jamaica.

The 7:12 a.m. train from Hempstead, due in Penn Station at 8:03 AM, will be canceled at Jamaica.

West Hempstead Branch

The 7:36 a.m. train from West Hempstead, due in Penn Station at 8:29 a.m., will be diverted to Hunterspoint Avenue.

PLANNING YOUR COMMUTE

The latest information on service can be found at mta.info, Long Island Rail Road officials say.

Riders also can call the LIRR Travel Information Center at 718-217-5477 (718-217-LIRR).

The hearing-impaired can use their preferred relay service provider or the free 711 relay to reach the LIRR at 718-217-5477.