Commuter safety on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is once again under the microscope after news three employees were involved in a potentially deadly cover-up.

The MTA investigated an incident two years ago in which a train carrying 650 passengers wound up on the wrong track. The misrouted train had to back up to the West Hempstead train station, causing an 18-minute delay. The employees who logged the incident in the LIRR record books claimed the train slipped because the wheels lost traction. The investigation found a train director made a switching mistake.

MTA Inspector General Matthew Sansverie says the attempted cover-up undermines the credibility of all LIRR train performance reports and could easily affect public confidence. Sansverie, who himself opened the investigation, says the cover-up would have most likely been successful had he not been riding the same train home in 2004.

LIRR officials say the three employees involved in the incident have been disciplined, but are still working for the railroad.