By Mike Schnitzel
His typical train ride home takes a little over an hour, but the Oceanside resident¹s Friday commute turned into a six-hour ordeal after downed power lines caused massive delays during the evening rush.
According to Long Island Rail Road spokesman James Castle, about 30,000 commuters were delayed when officials suspended service in parts of Nassau County at about 6:30 p.m. to remove a power line that had fallen on the tracks just east of the Valley Stream station.
³It was a total disaster,² said Vale, whose train came to a dead stop just before the Valley Stream station. ³There was supposed to be a diesel train to pick us up but it never came. It was total mass confusion. Guys were opening up the doors on their own and jumping off the train.²
According to Long Island Power Authority spokesman Michael Lowndes, service was restored at about 11:30 p.m. The wire that fell was a static line that does not carry a power current. Lowndes said that LIPA had not yet determined why the wire fell and that an investigation was ongoing.
Long Island Rail Road spokeswoman Susan McGowan said that service on the Babylon, Far Rockaway, West Hempstead and Long Beach lines was delayed when officials had to shut off power to the third rail at seven stations along those lines. McGowan said that the rails were turned off longer because of commuters who jumped off of trains.
Rachel Henenberg, of Woodmere, said that a lack of communication caused anxiety and frustration among riders on her train. ³I didn¹t see any conductor for four hours,² Henenberg said. ³The only time I saw a conductor was when they took my ticket. People were jumping from the train because no one knew what was going on and they weren¹t giving us any information.²
Robert Teigman, a senior at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania was home for the weekend and planned on visiting his girlfriend in the city. When the Lynbrook resident arrived at the Long Beach station, he realized that the ride wouldn¹t be as simple as normal.
³After about fifteen minutes of deliberating I decided to drive in,² Teigman said. ³I wish they would have said how long the delay would be. There were people waiting there who figured service would come back in 20 minutes, half an hour, but it didn¹t.²
Comments about this story? Mschnitzel@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
