Full service restored on Long Beach branch after disabled train blocks yard

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The Long Island Rail Road Long Beach branch is now operating at full capacity after service was temporarily suspended in both directions Tuesday morning due to a disabled train blocking the Long Beach yard, according to the agency’s Facebook.

At around 3 p.m. the same day, the LIRR announced that the train had been cleared from the tracks and that full service had resumed.

The incident caused a hectic morning for commuters who rely on the trains to get to work. The suspended trains were announced at around 6 a.m. on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority LIRR Twitter, advising customers to use alternate branches such as the Far Rockaway, Lynbrook or Valley Stream branches.

“Babylon branch trains are making added stops at Lynbrook and Jamaica this morning to accommodate Long Beach branch customers,” the LIRR said on Facebook.

Long Beach trains are now operating hourly between Jamaica and Island Park, with buses replacing trains between Island Park and Long Beach, according to the LIRR.

Commuters are also able to travel to the Valley Stream station to board an express bus service to 34th Street in Manhattan.

“At about 5:16 this morning, reports came that two non-passenger cars partially came off their tracks in the yard in Long Beach,” MTA Chairman Joe Lhota said at a press conference on Tuesday, adding that the train was not in service and did not contain passengers. He said the driver of the train was positioning it to prepare for the morning rush hour but noticed that something happened, so he stopped it immediately. “The observation was that it was partially derailed from the tracks.”

The service disruptions come amid the onset of the “Summer of Hell” — a series of several track closings throughout the summer to allow workers to make infrastructure repairs.

“With a difficult summer ahead of us, the LIRR needs to do a better job of having contingency plans to get people to the city when things don't go as planned — and this morning was a good example of that,” said State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, who has been advocating for a better commute for patrons. “We are in the midst of a transit crisis, and we need all hands all deck."

Elen Levitt, an Island Park resident, said her son and his friends were waiting for the 5:41 a.m. train out of the Island Park station when they called her and asked her to give them a ride to the Rockville Centre station.

“I take the 7:10 now for the summer because of the so-called ‘Summer of Hell,’” said Island Park commuter Dana Gray-Lanyo, who took a train from Island Park to Jamaica and changed trains to get to Pennsylvania Station. “Getting home is going to [be] a whole new adventure. The [Long Island] Rail Road made it worse by not communicating with the riders and the news. Everyone had a different story so no one knew what was going on and it was all word of mouth.”

“A frustrating summer for Long Beach and all of Long Island’s commuters got even more frustrating this morning,” said City Manager Jack Schnirman, whose wife, Joanie, commutes to the city. “My wife had to find an alternate way to get to work today — she found a ride to a different train station. Friends sent me pictures of them on schools buses — it’s tough on a hot morning when people need to get to work.”

Schnirman said that officials are concerned about the impact the frequent delays could potentially have on the summer season.

“From a quality of life perspective and an economic perspective, Long Beach families need the Long Island Rail Road to be reliable and get them to work as quickly and conveniently as possible,” he said. “Our City Council continues to advocate aggressively on behalf of our local commuters and on behalf of local businesses that rely on the LIRR to deliver them customers during summer.”