NEW YORK — Extensive track repairs are necessary at the site of Thursday’s derailment of a Long Island Rail Road train, Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber said during a press conference today (Aug. 4), but the commuter line should be fully functional by Monday morning’s commute.
The Queens Chronicle reports Lieber said 1,600 feet of track, 900 feet of third rail, and 400 concrete ties were destroyed in Thursday’s derailment at Hall Interlocking, just east of the Jamaica station in Queens.
Eastbound LIRR train No. 722 was traveling at 54 mph when it derailed at about 11:15 a.m. Thursday, injuring 13 people [see “LIRR train derails near Jamaica station …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 3, 2023].
“That’s a 24-7 operation that is going to continue through the weekend so we can have the railroad back in absolute perfect working order for the Monday rush,” Lieber said.
WABC-TV reports the last of the eight derailed cars in the M7 trainset were removed from the derailment site on Friday afternoon.
Lieber said the accident investigation is continuing. It will include a review of downloadable data from switches and cameras at the interlocking, as well as interviews with train personnel. WABC reports the Federal Railroad Adminstration is taking a lead role in the investigation.
While there have been three LIRR derailments in three months, the others were minor, with one involving non-revenue equipment and another occurring as a car derailed entering the Far Rockaway station [see “LIRR Far Rockaway service restored …,” News Wire, July 20, 2023].
“Derailments are extremely rare so I’m confident this is not indicative of any pattern but we are looking closely,” Lieber said.
Let’s hope the necessary lessons are learned!
Dr. Güntürk Üstün