Wednesday schedule restored after 21 trains cancelled Tuesday night

After two days of delays associated with a derailment inside one of Amtrak’s East River tunnels Monday evening, officials said full service was restored in time for Wednesday's morning rush. 

Two of 10 cars of a 5:51 p.m. Hempstead-bound train derailed as it was entering one of the four tunnel lines available to the LIRR at 6:09 p.m. on June 17, officials said. No injuries were reported, but Salvatore Arena, a spokesman for the MTA, said a preliminary assessment indicates that about 500 feet of track and approximately eight switches were damaged.

The LIRR was operating on or close to schedule Wednesday morning after completing overnight the repairs and testing of the tracks and damaged signals, according to the MTA. But because of the incident, 35 of 144 normal AM peak-hour trains were canceled and/or diverted during rush hour Tuesday morning, and 21 of 130 PM peak-hour trains were canceled. 

Tuesday evening's schedule changes included seven adjustements on the Babylon branch, three on the Long Beach line and one on Far Rockaway. Officials suggested that customers could board trains at Atlantic Terminal or Jamaica as a travel alternative. MTA New York City Transit also cross-honored fares at 34 St-Penn Station so LIRR customers can take the 2 or 3 subway to Atlantic Terminal or the E subway to Jamaica throughout the day. 

In the morning, the affected trains terminated at Jamaica, were canceled entirely or diverted from Penn Station to Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn or Hunterspoint Avenue in Queens. Fourteen of the westbound AM peak trains on the Babylon branch were impacted, with four affected on the Far Rockaway line, four on the Long Beach line and one on the West Hempstead branch. 

Arena noted that LIRR forces worked throughout Monday night and into Tuesday morning to re-rail and clear the derailed cars.