Downed V.S. power line snarls black Friday morning commute

A downed PSEG LI power line in Valley Stream early on Nov. 23 caused a Long Island Railroad transformer fire, disrupting signaling systems and snarling the morning commute on four separate train branches, according to a railroad spokesperson.

The trouble began around 3 a.m., when a downed line sparked a small fire at a LIRR substation in Valley Stream, and caused delays and cancelattions on the Babylon, Long Beach, Far Rockaway and West Hempstead branches. Buses were used in some instances on the West Hempstead and Far Rockaway lines, the spokesperson said, to ferry commuters as work was being performed to restore full service.

“Yesterday’s unfortunate downed PSEG LI line caused extensive damage to our signal infrastructure in multiple locations in Valley Stream,” the railroad said in a statement. “LIRR crews and personnel responded immediately have been working around the clock in the bitter cold to restore regular train service. While incidents like this are outside of LIRR’s control but ultimately affect our system and our customers.”

PSEG is currently investigating the incident. The LIRR reported that full service on all affected branches was restored by around 10:30 a.m.