(03/27/08) JAMAICA, QUEENS - Two Long Island Rail Road trains bumped each other at Jamaica Station Thursday, causing one train to derail and creating delays into the evening commute.
The railroad says the accident at 10 a.m. Thursday involved the 9:35 a.m. from Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn due in Hempstead. It jumped the tracks when it bumped a train alongside it, the 9:34 a.m. from Penn Station to Huntington.Commuters reported seeing sparks and smoke as the collision occurred. Some on the trains said the cars shook, causing some people to fall. None of the 300 passengers on the two trains was injured, said railroad spokeswoman Susan McGowan.
LIRR officials spent the day trying to figure out just how the collision occurred and removing the derailed train from the tracks. LIRR spokesman Joe Calderone says the Hempstead train was going over a switch before the collision, but that the agency is not sure if that is what caused the accident.
Eleven trains were canceled or combined with other trains during the evening commute. Delays of 30 minutes were seen into the evening, but the morning commute is expected to resume normally.
AP wire reports contributed to this article.
Long Island Rail Road