LIRR: Train debris on East River Tunnel track caused morning delays
Commuters board an LIRR train in Hicksville last month. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
The LIRR's president said a piece of an Amtrak train left on the tracks inside one of the East River Tunnels was to blame for major service disruptions that caused headaches for tens of thousands of Long Island commuters Tuesday morning.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said the train struck the debris, but was able to continue on to the West Side Yard, where the extent of the damage was being investigated. Nobody was hurt in the incident, according to the MTA.
More than 50 Long Island Rail Road trains were delayed, cancelled or diverted as track inspections were performed inside one of the tunnels linking to Penn Station. Compounding the problem, LIRR officials told customers in a message, was the fact that "track capacity is also severely limited due to the Amtrak Penn Station East River Tunnel work."
Several trains typically bound for Penn Station were diverted to Grand Central Madison throughout the morning rush. The LIRR’s website showed that trains on five of its busiest routes — Ronkonkoma, Babylon, Port Jefferson, Port Washington and its City Zone, were all being rerouted.
LIRR President Robert Free, in a statement, said the issue "impacted tens of thousands of Long Island Rail Road riders trying to get to jobs, education and other destinations during Tuesday’s morning peak."
Shortly before 10 a.m., the LIRR notified customers that "trains are no longer being diverted."
Amtrak spokesman W. Kyle Anderson said in a statement, "Amtrak inspection crews responded to one of the East River Tunnels this morning following a report of debris, which was removed before service resumed." Anderson said there would be no impact on the Tuesday evening rush hour.
Shortly after 11 a.m., Free, in a statement, said an investigation was underway into "how debris from an Amtrak Viewliner train wound up in an East River Tunnel."
"We are working with Amtrak to better understand what happened and what steps Amtrak will be taking to minimize the likelihood of a similar disruption moving forward," Free said.
In June, Amtrak took one of the four East River Tunnels out of service for a major rehabilitation effort that includes repairing damage caused by Superstorm Sandy floodwaters 13 years ago. The work is expected to keep one tunnel out of service through 2027.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials implored Amtrak to limit the work to nights and weekends, in part because of concerns of what would happen if an issue arose in one tunnel, while another was already out of service. Amtrak maintained that, to do the work right, one tunnel had to be shut down altogether for the duration of the project.
Free said Tuesday morning's incident "follows LIRR’s repeatedly stated concerns that in this environment any unplanned event could severely compromise Long Islanders’ ability to reach Penn Station."
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
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