Fire Cripples Long Island Rail Road Service

[Renew Deal]

Source: NY Times

Service on the Long Island Rail Road has been suspended almost completely since 11 a.m. because of a fire in a switching tower near Jamaica Station in Queens, the railroad said. Only the Port Washington branch, which runs through northeastern Queens to Nassau County, is operating. The other 10 branches, which run through Jamaica, are all shut down. A spokesman, Michael Lewi, said that the railroad was “currently assessing the damage to the tower and its impact on evening service” and did not know when service would resume.

Read more: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/fire-cripples-long-island-rail-road

---

They only have 1 tower?

[KamaAina]

1. All but one of the lines run past that tower

As you can see, everything pretty much branches off from Jamica. This could get ugly, especially with tens of thousands of Long Islanders already in the city. :scared:

[babylonsister]

2. Oh man! I'm happy not to be a LIRR commuter today, or for

however long this will take to fix. :(

[bossy22]

3. knowing the way the MTA works

i say service will be back to normal by the end of 2020

[redwitch]

4. oh boy.

The already trying commute is gonna be a nightmare. I hope they can fix it soon.

[babylonsister]

6. Hey you...

long time, no see! :hi:

That does sound nightmarish to me, too. Everyone is SO ready to get home, only to be confronted with this mess. I hope folks are trying to find alternatives, though there aren't many short of having someone pick you up. Buses, maybe.

[redwitch]

7. The roads are already so conjested.

If all the people who usually take the train have to hit the roadways I shudder to think about how much fun that is going to be. Especially since no one has any patience anymore.

[AndyTiedye]

8. They Are Already in the City W/O their Cars

Someone will have to drive in to pick them up, or they have to take a cab.
Either way, the commute home turns into a round trip for double the traffic impact.

[redwitch]

9. Rush Hour is going to be awful in both directions tonight.

Poor things! Take your time and pay attention all!

[Jim__]

5. I'd hate to be riding the subway to Queens tonight.

Bad news!