The Long Island Rail Road suspended service system-wide during the Wednesday evening rush hour commute, citing a string of weather-related issues that arose after a nor’easter struck while the LIRR is still recovering from Superstorm Sandy.
Downed trees first led to the suspension of service on the Port Washington Branch. Signal troubles and other equipment issues then caused some trains to be cancelled and others to be delayed up to an hour. Penn Station was also closed to prevent overcrowding while as commuters waited for trains.
LIRR service had previously been suspended for days after Sandy struck last week. A limited number of trains have since been running because two of the four East River tunnels were flooded in the storm.
Trains are only running as far as Island Park on the hard-hit Long Beach Branch and crews are have been working to repair a washout on tracks in Mattituck.
The nor’easter, dubbed Athena, hit LI while more than 175,000 homes were still blacked out more than a week after Sandy.
For more information, visit www.mta.info/lirr or call 511.