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.