LIRR train derails at Atlantic Terminal, NYPD says

Passenger describes LIRR accident in Brooklyn

A Long Island Rail Road train hit a bumping block and derailed at Brooklyn"s Atlantic Terminal during the morning rush hour on Wednesday, injuring at least 103 people, authorities said.

The Far Rockawaytrain was carrying about 430 passengers when it crashed through the final bumper on Track 6 atthe busy transit hub around 8:20 a.m.,causing two of the six train cars to derail, the FDNY and MTA said.

The train hitthe wall of a waiting area, and a rail pierced the train, FDNY assistant chief Daniel F. Donaghue said.

None of the injuries were life-threatening, the FDNY said. It"s not clear if all of the people hurt were passengers inside the train, fire officials said.

The injured were taken to Brooklyn Hospital Center, New York Methodist Hospital and Kings County Hospital.

MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast said it was not immediately known how fast the train was going when it entered the terminal, but that theengineer was probably responsible for failing to stop the train before it hit the bumper.

"At that speed, it"s pretty much the locomotive engineer"s responsibility to stop the train," Prendergast said.

The MTA is investigating what went wrong and why the operator did not stop the train before the bumping block.The Federal Railroad Administration has been notified and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, the MTA said.

The LIRRsaid on Twitter that service was operating "on or close to schedule" at Atlantic Terminal at about 11:30 a.m. No delays are expected during the evening commute.

Daniela Roth, of Valley Stream, said she was sitting in the first car of the train when it derailed."We started feeling the train jump the rail," she said. "Then we heard the metal screeching, and it felt like it was forever. And then we saw the smoke."

Roth said passengers "were catapulted," which caused anyone standing to fall. The front of the train appeared crushed, she said.

Another passenger,Wendy Gerzog, 57 of Lawrence, said "there was smoke all over," but she didn"t know where it was coming from.

Gerzog suffered some contusions, but said she was OK.

"We"re New Yorkers," she said. "We manage."

Gov. Andrew Cuomopraised the "fantastic" emergency response to the incident and said the accident was"minor" compared to the NJ Transit derailment in Hoboken, New Jersey, back in September, which killed one person and injured more than 100.

Less than three months ago, on oct. 8, alirr passenger train hit a work train and then derailed near Long Island"s New Hyde Park neighborhood, injuring 33 people and prompting days of service disruptions.

With Ivan Pereira and Lauren Cook

Source: http://www.amny.com/transit/lirr-train-derails-at-atlantic-terminal-nypd-says-1.12861181

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Partial LIRR Service Resumes After Frozen Tracks, Switches Snarl Start Time

LIRR Christmas Eve Morning Rush Hour at Mineola

MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) Partial service on the Long Island Rail Road resumed on some branches later than originally planned Monday after switches and tracks refroze overnight.

Service resumed around 6 a.m. on the Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma, Huntington, Babylon and Greenport branches. Partial service was also offered on the Montauk branch as far as Speonk.

Its unclear when the Port Washington branch will be back up and running.

We had a lot of snow and a lot of ice and we just cant get service going on there yet, MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg told CBS2. We have three big pieces of snow clearing equipment working on that line trying to clear snow and ice from the rails and the third rails.

The railroad had initially planned to restore service starting at 5 a.m. Monday following Saturdays massive snowstorm that dumped more than two feet of snow in some areas of Long Island.

The railroad then pushed the start time to 7 a.m. Monday before announcing that service was starting to resume on some branches.

Lisberg said crews were working frantically to get service back after tracks and switches that were cleared Sunday refroze when the temperatures dropped.

We had lines that refroze overnight, Lisberg said. We also had problems with trying to position crews and trains in locations so that they can serve those outlying stations.

But many commuters waiting for trains early Monday morning were frustrated over the changing information.

Service is intermittent, they cant really tell us when the next train is coming through. They told us to wait, so were waiting, one man waiting at the Mineola station told CBS2s Jennifer McLogan. They really should be able to get us in and out of the city for what we pay.

I wish that the LIRR website and signage was better at keeping updated about whats actually going on because when I checked their website at 6 a.m., it still had the information from last night and that wasnt very helpful.

One man told WCBS 880s Sophia Hall that he arrived at the Hicksville station at 4 a.m. thinking trains were going to begin operating an hour later, but he said they didnt starting running until 6:30 a.m.

They have 8 million people working for the railroad I think they could have had it ready by this morning, the man said.

Some commuters decided to get into their cars and drive into the city, while others took a sick day from work, Hall reported.

Early Monday morning, electronic updates appeared on one screen at Penn Station in New York City, but the big information board remained blank, 1010 WINS John Montone reported.

At least give the customers the acknowledgement of when theyre going to start, another commuter said.

Service remains suspended on the Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach and West Hempstead branches. There is also no service between Jamaica Station and Atlantic Terminal.

LIRR tickets are being cross-honored by New York City Transit on the 2 and 3 trains between Brooklyn and Penn Station.

Customers are being urged to stay at home and avoid travel if possible Monday as clean up efforts continue.

For more information, click here.

Source: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/01/25/lirr-snowstorm-service/

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