Several people were injured after a train derailed in the Queens borough of New York City, the city’s authorities have said.
About 100 riders were on the Long Island Rail Road train when it derailed shortly after 11 a.m. local time east of the Jamaica station in Queens, said a Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesperson in a press conference. The train had departed from Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan and was headed towards Hempstead in Long Island.
A spokesperson from the fire department said that at least 13 people suffered injuries and additional passengers were being evaluated. Officials said that riders were immediately evacuated to a rescue train and taken back to Jamaica where they were attended to.
“In total, we have 13 patients. Nine of those are minor, two of them are moderate, and two are more serious but all of them are stable,” said Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh. “Everyone is going to be okay today.”
MTA Chair Janno Lieber added that though passengers were “shaken up,” they were not in a state of panic and remained calm.
“We’re talking about a train that goes from being on the rails to bumping along on the ties for a distance,” said Lieber. “So people were a tiny bit shaken up. But the situation was very calm. I myself went on the train before it went back to Jamaica and spoke to many of the passengers. They were all calm. They were very gracious and in good spirits.”
More:Video shows New Yorkers detaining man accused of hitting 10 pedestrians with SUV
Delays expected
Eight train cars derailed, officials said. Eastbound LIRR trains were bypassing several other stations as a result. Officials said that repair work was underway on the track but passengers and riders should expect delays during the evening rush hour and tomorrow morning as well. Authorities advised riders to monitor LIRR’s social media pages as well as the app for real-time updates.
“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,” explained Lieber. “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.”
More:Fare hikes of 4.5% coming to Metro-North next month, and MTA tolls will rise too
While the cause of the derailment has not yet been identified, authorities said an investigation is underway. However, speed was not a factor – the train was going at a speed of 54 miles/hour, said an official.
“We can positively determine that speed was not a factor in this. [The rail] was operating under the maximum allowable speed in the area. But it’s still too early to say exactly if there were any type of malfunction,” said the authorities.
“We will continue closely monitoring the situation to ensure passengers and rail workers are safe,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
