By Jennifer Corr
Published online and in print in the Southampton Press.
Long Island Rail Road President Philip Eng issued a statement last week apologizing for service disruptions during the Memorial Day weekend that followed derailments of two locomotives and a passenger train car in Speonk on Saturday, May 25, at 4:09 a.m.
“We are aggressively investigating this and will apply any lessons learned to prevent a repeat occurrence,” Mr. Eng said on Wednesday, May 29. “We apologize to the customers who were inconvenienced by this and thank everyone for their patience. Given the extent of the damage, that we were able to restore service as quickly as we did is a testament to the hard work of our employees, who took action immediately and worked throughout the holiday weekend.”
The damage was extensive because of the nature of the accident, in which a work train sideswiped a passenger train, according to the LIRR.
There were no injuries in the crash, but LIRR customers went almost two full days without direct rail service to or from the South Fork during what is considered one of the busiest weekends in the area before service was finally restored on Memorial Day at 1:09 a.m., when the first Montauk-bound trains left Jamaica Station. The first westbound train left Montauk for Jamaica at 7:04 a.m., bringing many visitors back home.
According to a Sunday, May 26, press release, LIRR employees worked “around the clock” to re-rail derailed locomotives and the passenger train car, clear the trains from the area, rebuild a destroyed switch, repair two other damaged switches, replace and repair related signal components, and rebuild hundreds of feet of mainline track that was heavily damaged. Crew members from Metro-North Railroad assisted LIRR employees.
“Our employees’ immediate response to this unexpected incident, and others like it, shows their dedication to our customers,” Mr. Eng said.
Before service resumed, the trains were tested on Sunday to ensure safety and reliability. Until service was restored, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority offered eastbound train service to Patchogue and accommodated those heading to the South Fork with bus service from Patchogue to Hampton Bays. In Hampton Bays, passengers boarded a shuttle train.
The cause of the incident is being investigated, according to the press release, by the LIRR in consultation with the Federal Railroad Administration and the New York State Passenger Transportation Safety Board.