A Long Island Rail Road train derailed in Queens on Thursday morning, injuring 13 people, with fire department crews responding at a scene that will delay train service this afternoon and possibly tomorrow morning.
The injuries sustained were minor and all individuals are in stable condition, New York City’s Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, told reporters during a press conference. Passengers were able to board a rescue train to Jamaica Station, where those injured were evaluated, Janno Lieber, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s chief executive officer, said during the press conference. The MTA oversees the city’s subways, buses and commuter rail lines.
The incident, involving all eight of the train’s cars, occurred at 11:12 a.m. on a train about half a mile east of the Jamaica train station, Lieber said.
“Some folks were shaken up and they were quickly attended to,” Lieber said.
The MTA is investigating the incident but has ruled out speed as a factor for the derailment. Lieber urged commuters to use the MTA website and apps for up-to-date information as Long Island Rail Road service would be affected Thursday and possibly Friday morning.
“The restoration process is not merely a matter of re-railing the train,” Lieber said. “There is damage to the ties and other railroad infrastructure as well that has to be addressed.”
Customers on the train, which departed Grand Central Station at 10:43 a.m. and was due in Hempstead at 11:37 a.m., were transfered to alternate trains at Jamaica, and other trains are being diverted from the crash site, an MTA spokesperson said. The Long Island Rail Road announced that trains won’t make stops at stations in Hollis and Queens Village to avoid the site.
(Updates story and headline with new details on passenger injuries and service disruptions from a press conference held with officials Thursday.)
