Yesterday morning, an LIRR train bound for Hempstead derailed in Queens with approximately 100 passengers on board, injuring at least 13.
Departing from Grand Central at 10:43 AM, the train was estimated to arrive at Hempstead by 11:37AM until all eight of the train cars derailed just past the Jamaica Station around 11:15 AM, according to police. Luckily only two of the passengers endured serious injuries; the majority of passengers received minor injuries if any, and all are expected to fully recover.
The NY Fire Department was called to the scene around 11:30 AM, where they assisted the passengers and MTA staff off of the train cars. Fire Commissioner, Laura Kavanagh, said that “this is a complex and dangerous operation but they were able to get to work quickly and determine that they were able to get all of the passengers off the train to another location to be assessed by EMS.”
MTA Chair, Janno Lieber, spoke to the press about the derailment, explaining that “the restoration process is not merely a matter of re-railing the train, there is damage to the ties and other railroad infrastructure as well. We’ll have to come back to the public about how long it’s going to be until that track and our ability to provide full Long Island Railroad service is back in action.”
An investigation is being conducted to discover the cause of the derailment. Officials do not believe that the accident had anything to do with the speed of the train going 54 mph. They are now working on analyzing the downloadable data provided by each train car’s mechanics and will hopefully find a reason for the derailment.