Fire disrupts LIRR's Jamaica-Penn Station route

A brush fire has interrupted local service on the LIRR's Jamaica-Penn Station route, railroad officials said Saturday.

The fire broke out at about 1:10 p.m. west of Jamaica Station and started affecting service at about 1:45 p.m., said Long Island Rail Road spokesman Michael Lewi. He said west-bound express trains were still running to Penn Station, but local trains were suspended while firefighters try to control the blaze.

Travelers who want to get to the Kew Gardens, Forest Hills and Woodside stations need to take a west-bound train from Jamaica to Penn Station, and then return on an east-bound train for those stations, Lewi said. The Transit Authority is cross-honoring fares, he added.

The express trains were not affected because they operate on a different track than the local, he said.

Lewi said there was no immediate indication what started the fire.