Crews make repairs after LIRR derailment with hundreds on board
JAMAICA, Queens (WABC) -- The MTA says there will be no disruptions on the LIRR during Monday morning's commute after a train derailed Friday night in Queens.
Two cars of the 8:56 p.m. train from Penn due at Babylon at 10:11 p.m. derailed just east of Jamaica near Archer Ave and Sutphin Boulevard.
There were 383 passengers on board the train at the time, according to the LIRR. Passengers had to wait more than an hour to get off the stranded train.
Crews worked through the night and have continued track work around the clock to get the equipment re-railed.
"We do know that there is a rail that was broken," said LIRR SVP of Operations Rod Brooks. "We don't know whether that was a cause or an effect. We are just 11 hours into it, so our first priority is the safety and security of the passengers and employees, get the cars re-railed, get the infrastructure restored, restore service and then we will begin our investigative process."
No injuries were reported, but there were many delays and cancellations throughout the night.
Trains were running on time Saturday morning, but passengers leaving from Jamaica Station were advised they would be boarding on a different track.
The MTA chairman has ordered an expedited investigation into what went wrong. That investigation is expected to take a few weeks.
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