November 23, 2019

 

 

LIRR Issues Further Updates on Last Night’s Slow Speed Derailment

As of 11:31 a.m. the second and final car that had left the tracks has been re-railed. Repairs to the broken rail are underway.

MTA Long Island Rail Road crews have worked around the clock to make repairs and ensure the safety of the railroad and its passengers following a slow speed derailment Friday night, in which some wheels on the last two cars left the tracks. The rear car of the 10-car train was re-railed as of 8:20 a.m. 

The derailment occurred at 9:27 p.m. when the 8:56 p.m. train from Penn Station, due to arrive Babylon at 10:11 p.m., was approximately 400 yards east of Jamaica station. The train was traveling at 13 miles per hour at the time of the incident..

"LIRR and emergency personnel arrived on scene  immediately after learning of the incident to ensure the safety of our customers. We have been working around the clock to make repairs to the track and regular service has been restored systemwide. The LIRR has launched an investigation into the cause of the slow speed derailment and we will leave no stone unturned as it proceeds," said LIRR SVP of Operations Rod Brooks.

MTA PD arrived within minutes of the incident along with first responders from the FDNY and NYPD Emergency Services Unit. “MTA police officers entered the incident train, communicating throughout the period in which passengers remained on board, to advise of developments and ensure their safety,” said Capt. David Winding, MTA PD Incident Commander. 

There were no injuries to the 383 passengers on the train, who continued to receive updates and were given water as they waited for an evacuation train. All passengers were safely moved to the evacuation train by 11:38 p.m., and that train moved east to make local stops enroute to Babylon. 

LIRR has launched an investigation to determine the cause. Investigators have found a broken rail. It is unknown whether that was a result of the incident or may have been a cause. That rail was observed hours before the incident, during a routine weekly inspection that involved crews walking the tracks Friday afternoon. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Public Transportation Safety Board (PTSB) were notified of the slow speed derailment. 

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