Service through Jamaica suspended...

[NX Express]

...on the

Babylon

Far Rockaway

Hempstead

Montauk

Oyster Bay

and

Port Jefferson

lines "due to switch trouble east of the station."

"The MTA is cross-honoring fares at this time."

[Queens Surface]

The Tower at Jamaica caught on fire, so none of the switches are working down there at all.

[NX Express]

The Tower at Jamaica caught on fire, so none of the switches are working down there at all.

 

Unlike the Chambers St incident, where there were alternatives, this time LIRR customers are royally screwed.:eek:

[Joe]

That's what happens when you lay off useful employees.

[Amtrak7]

The Tower at Jamaica caught on fire, so none of the switches are working down there at all.

 

More specifically, HALL, the eastern tower, caught fire. It was to be decommissioned anyway 2 months from today.

 

Employees are lining switches so that there are 2 tracks each for the Main Line, Atlantic, and Montauk branches. This will be a nightmare of a rush hour.

[NX Express]

From the MTA site:

"Very limited service has been restored through Jamaica. Please listen to announcements for further service details."

[Broadway Local]

"Shortly before 11 AM today, Long Island Rail Road service was suspended on all branches, with the exception of the Port Washington Branch, as a result of a fire in the LIRR’s switching tower located on the east side of Jamaica." http://www.mta.info/

[AJ023]

More specifically, HALL, the eastern tower, caught fire. It was to be decommissioned anyway 2 months from today.

 

Employees are lining switches so that there are 2 tracks each for the Main Line, Atlantic, and Montauk branches. This will be a nightmare of a rush hour.

 

Awhile back I asked if all switches at Jamaica were replaced considering Valley was done.

 

Turns out the one old switch in the network (could be more in suffolk, but I am referring to Nassau, and NYC) went on fire and shut down the system. Predictable event. They say it was an electrical fire so I am assuming the equipment just went down from it being old or they knew the facility was being upgraded so they weren't maintaining it anymore.

 

Im sure they could salvage the old switches if the damage wasn't too great or make repairs, then start building out the new switches at the same time.

 

Service I gather will be spotty for a little while, but if it was true that HALL was to be decommissioned in 2 months, service should be normal by then.

 

Im sure they can salvage parts from the working switches that were at the other locations which were working fine till they were decommissioned as well. I presume these parts are available.

 

After Hall is decommissioned none of these issues will happen again but at the end of the switches lifecycles, you often see blowout events like we saw with the Subway and LIRR. Its just a game of cat and mouse.

 

Sad to see so much delays considering people pay good money for the LIRR rides.

[Brighton Local]

Are switches being thrown manually on the road bed as of right now?

[AJ023]

Are switches being thrown manually on the road bed as of right now?

 

Will be back to normal before you know it.

 

Tonight is going to be horrendous though. It is 4:17PM EST right now. Rush hour is going to be a HORROR.

 

Glad I am not on the train today.

[NX Express]

All Far Rockaway and Hempstead trains are leaving from Atlantic Terminal, as per the MTA website.

[Amtrak7]

Are switches being thrown manually on the road bed as of right now?

 

The switches have been thrown and locked manually. Since the western end is still functional, trains are being routed before the station rather than after it.

[AJ023]

NY Times says a surge occured. Have surges occured in the other switches before with electrical fires?

 

Not really asking, since Im sure they can fix the problem with a better temporary fix till the new switch comes online.

 

Considering how crowded the LIRR is lately and how many people use it, a fix will be in the works soon enough then a permanent solution in 2 months with the new switches in place.

[SevenEleven]

Very limited LIRR service through Jamaica has been restored after a switch fire this morning eliminated the railroad's ability to switch trains from one track to another at Jamaica. As a result, there will be no regularly scheduled connections at Jamaica this evening.

 

• Far Rockaway and Hempstead Branch customers must catch their train from Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn.
  
• Customers for all other branches please depart from Penn Station.
  
• Montauk Branch customers, please take a Babylon Branch train and change at Babylon.
  
• Oyster Bay Branch customers, please change at Mineola.
  
• Port Jefferson Branch customers, please change at Hicksville or Huntington.
  
• West Hempstead Branch customers, please change at Valley Stream for bus service.
  

 

[Shortline Bus]

Dumb question? Was the rain storm at least partially to blame for this 'fire?":confused:

 

Not trying to downplay it. Only small good news is that a few riders are off in the near end of the summer vaction season, for the vaction I am sure.

If this happened in Mid September it would be more of a hell.

[NX Express]

Update: Manual switching is in effect.

The LIRR has 20 minute eastbound delays through Jamaica and delays up to 10 minutes westbound through Jamaica due to manual switching.

[AJ023]

Some conspiracy theorist will claim the "New World Order" took down the rail lines down to engage in crowd control. Others can claim it was a terrorist plot, and others will call it an act of nature. Others will claim it was due to the new switch being put in and during work they messed up the wiring. Only one of the answers can be right.

 

Both Amtrak and LIRR went down. Both involved electrical problems.

 

I myself find it hard to swallow that the old wires and system at Hall would cause a surge into the system shutting it down. I have seen what Hall looks like, in fact there are photos of it on the net.

 

Issues of critical infrastructure like transportation, communications and the like can also become targets where weakness spots lie.

 

This week, I am more than certain temporary repairs will be made since so many people depend on the system.

[NX Express]

Both Amtrak and LIRR went down. Both involved electrical problems.

 

Amtrak had their own issues, or was it something related to the Jamaica fire?

[Queens Surface]

Update: Manual switching is in effect.

 

Manual Switching has been in effect since yesterday.

 

Some conspiracy theorist will claim the "New World Order" took down the rail lines down to engage in crowd control. Others can claim it was a terrorist plot, and others will call it an act of nature. Others will claim it was due to the new switch being put in and during work they messed up the wiring. Only one of the answers can be right.

 

Both Amtrak and LIRR went down. Both involved electrical problems.

 

I myself find it hard to swallow that the old wires and system at Hall would cause a surge into the system shutting it down. I have seen what Hall looks like, in fact there are photos of it on the net.

 

Issues of critical infrastructure like transportation, communications and the like can also become targets where weakness spots lie.

 

This week, I am more than certain temporary repairs will be made since so many people depend on the system.

 

Amtrak always has electrical issues of some sort, nothing new there.

 

Amtrak had their own issues, or was it something related to the Jamaica fire?

 

It was not related at all.

[AJ023]

It could in someones mind lead more weight to the "New World Order" and crowd control explanation especially considering the route which went down was between Washington DC + New York which is the route which represents the halls of political power.

 

I am not speculating as to the specific cause/causes. But it is true that as of right now today, the rail infrastructure in the USA is experiencing major issues which hopefully can and will be corrected as soon as possible.

 

Amtrak needs modernization because it is old and antequated in portions and the LIRR had a serious KNOWN issue with Hall and I knew this way back when. So the failure which we saw no matter what the actual cause was, was going to happen because the switch hadn't yet been modernized.

 

Hall will decommissioned before you know it. What counts is noone was injured and the switch can be replaced and the LIRR will be operating at full efficiency, and will be better than ever when Hall is gone.

 

Transit issues right now: Airport runway closing 2 weeks in September, Hall needs to be redone which will be done shortly, Amtrak needs to get some improvements.

 

Im not sure if other switches are all modern but I do know the Grand Central connector is going up so if they aren't the switching on this line should be optimal and computerized when all fully ready especially if the M9 cars are online.