LIRR warns about cancelled trains, delays due to Jamaica fire

MTA Long Island Rail Road continues to advise customers to expect significant schedule changes and delays during Friday's morning and evening rush hours August 27 as repair work and testing continues as a result of damage to a major switching tower at Jamaica Station caused by a cable fire on the morning of August 23.

LIRR crews are continuing
the time-consuming process of thoroughly assessing the extent of the damage to
the tower’s switching board and wiring. Since August 23, crews have been
working continuously, round-the-clock on repairs. By late evening August 25,
the great majority of the repair phase of the work to the tower’s switching
machine and wiring was completed.

 In the repair process, hundreds of wires
needed to be checked for damage and replacements made. However, as the LIRR is
now in the testing phase, some additional damage is yet being discovered,
requiring further equipment replacements. It is likely that the testing and
additional replacements will take several days to complete. Intricate and
thorough testing must be performed on the 77 switching points and 53 signals
that Hall Tower controls. It is anticipated that off-peak service adjustments
may be required during this testing phase.

From the preliminary LIRR
investigation into the incident, it appears that the cause of the cable fire
was weather-related, but the investigation is ongoing.

Hall Tower is a key signal
tower through which trains are switched to appropriate tracks into and out of
Jamaica Station. With its electrical signal system disabled, trains can only
proceed through Hall using a manual system employed to ensure maximum safety
during an emergency such as this.