Long Island Rail Road service was partially restored at 2 p.m. Wednesday, three days after the MTA shut down all trains and buses in New York State in advance of Hurricane Sandy’s devastation.
Hourly train service began rolling again between Jamaica and Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn. The LIRR said its goal is to restore hourly service from Great Neck and Ronkonkoma to Penn Station for the Thursday morning rush hour commute. Service remains suspended on the rest of the system.
Off-peak fares will be in effect on LIRR trains until full service is restored and no onboard penalty fees will be charged.
LIRR crews removed more than 140 trees throughout the system with heaviest concentrations on the Port Washington and Oyster Bay branches and the Port Jefferson Branch east of Huntington. Some of the fallen trees are up to 6-feet wide.
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Three 90-foot high-tension utility poles snapped and are leaning over the tracks on the Babylon Branch near Amityville. There are also downed power lines in some areas.
Flooding from the extreme high-tides and the storm surge from the Hudson River flooded the LIRR’s West Side Train Storage Yard in Manhattan, damaging tracks and signals.
The LIRR pumped out high water from tracks on the Port Washington Branch near Mets-Willets Point Station and in Island Park, where the storm also dumped some boats and cargo container units on the tracks near Reynolds Channel.
The LIRR is in the process of restoring power and 591 crossing gate arms at the LIRR’s 295 crossings.
New York City subway service was also partially restored Wednesday. For more infomation, call 511 or visit www.mta.info/lirr