New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in the US has restored full service to the popular Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) commuter route, following a derailment on 3 August.
The MTA and the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) said 13 people were injured when an eight-car train derailed near Jamaica Street station, a key interchange for travellers en route to JFK Airport.
All eight cars left the track and damaged nearly 500m of track, which needed significant repair work before services could resume.
It happened at the largest interlocking on the LIRR, where the Air Train line to JFK splits from ten LIRR lines and several subway lines.
It’s the third LIRR derailment in approximately three months, but the MTA said although the cause is unknown, the train’s speed at the time was not a contributing factor.
MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said crews worked around the clock to repair the stretch of track.
“We are doing a proper investigation,” he said.
“We don’t just pop out hypotheses.”
