LIRR Long Beach branch service restored after AM derailment

LONG BEACH, Long Island (WABC) -- Service is back to normal on the LIRR Long Beach branch after a derailed train caused service problems for the Monday morning commute.

The incident happened around 5:15 a.m., when an empty non-passenger LIRR train was being moved inside the Long Beach train yard. Officials say two of the cars partially went off the rails, disabling the train and blocking other trains from entering and departing the yard.

"The commute is not easy anyway, and when it happens, it's like you don't know what to do," commuter Anna Naigz said. "You can't skip work, so you have to do something about it."

MTA Chairman Joe Lhota said workers brought in a crane to lift the two cars off of the tracks. Damage to the tracks was said to be minimal, and crews were able to get service up an running in time for the evening commute.

Efforts immediately began to re-rail the train, while alternate services were put into place, including buses. First, passengers were moved from Long Beach to nearby stations by bus. Then, the buses took passengers to the Valley Stream park and ride.

At 7:30 a.m., train service was restored between Jamaica station and Island Park, and customers were being bused between Long Beach and Island Park.

Four trains from Long Beach were canceled before service was restored to Island Park.