Crews rerail Long Island Rail Road train, repairing track after derailment in Jamaica, Queens
NEW YORK -- Crews have rerailed a Long Island Rail Road train that went off the tracks on Thursday afternoon and are repairing the track to restore service for the weekend, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said on Friday.
A total of eight LIRR train cars derailed in Jamaica, Queens, injuring 13 passengers. At a press conference Friday afternoon, MTA CEO Janno Lieber said all eight have been rerailed.
"There was a fulltime, 24/7, overnight operation that has done something that we did not think was possible, which is to get all the cars back on the rail and to start the process of putting this track back into service," he said.
The train cars need repairs but survived the accident; the tracks beneath them did not. LIRR says 1,600 feet of tracks will require repairs over the weekend, though they say it won't interrupt the weekend schedule.
The hope is for all repairs to be done in time for the Monday morning commute. Along with delays, three trains were canceled Thursday and four trains were pre-emptively canceled on Friday.
"I'm 100 percent confident that this is not indicative of some pattern, but we are looking closely. This is one of the busiest areas of the Long Island Rail Road," Lieber said.
Until repairs are made, eastbound LIRR trains will continue to bypass Hillside, Hollis and Queens Village on the Hempstead branch with limited bus service.
CBS New York's Elijah Westbrook spoke Friday morning with commuters at Mineola Station, where they said at least they knew to plan ahead.
"Yes we get delayed, yes these things periodically happen, but what you don't want is to have anybody hurt. That, to me, is the most important," one man said.
The MTA said the train took off from Grand Central Madison and was headed to Hempstead on Thursday when eight cars were knocked off the tracks in an area called "hall interlocking," a network of signals and tracks that allow trains to switch direction.
"We have damage to the infrastructure, to the tracks and the ties. That work has to be done over the weekend," Lieber said. "We're shooting to bring that track entirely back into service by the time Monday comes around."
The MTA said it's ruling out speed as a factor, since the train was traveling 54 miles per hour, which is well below the speed limit of 80 miles per hour.
"There's a ton of data being downloaded from all the equipment in the area," said Lieber. "Premature to say exactly what caused it, but we're digging in."
The MTA is using cameras from on-board the trains themselves to learn what they can, as well as other data from on-board and interviews with the conductors.
Customers are being advised to check the MTA's TrainTime app for the latest information.
Stick with CBS News New York for live updates from the scene and the commute around the area.
