Major LIRR disruption as downed wires near Hicksville stop service on Ronkonkoma Branch

Downed PSEG power cables on the Long Island Rail Road tracks near Hicksville were causing major disruptions amid the Wednesday evening rush hour.

LIRR President Rob Free, in an interview Wednesday afternoon, said two-to-three high transmission poles and their power cables are down "across the tracks" somewhere between Hicksville and Bethpage stations.

The situation, Free said, is preventing the LIRR from operating trains on its Ronkonkoma branch east of Hicksville and west of Farmingdale.

"It’s not safe for us to operate trains as they're really low hanging," Free said of the high voltage wires. "There’s one of them that's literally like dangling in between the tracks."

The downed lines are not impacting any PSEG customers, utility spokesperson Katy Tatzel told Newsday via email. She added: "Our crews will be working alongside the MTA to assess the damage and will be restoring power as quickly and as safely as possible."

Free said the downed wires mean the LIRR "will not have a PM rush hour" on its busiest line.

Trains from Grand Central to Ronkonkoma scheduled to depart at 4:54 p.m. and 6:14 p.m. have been canceled, according to the MTA's website. Seven Ronkonkoma-bound trains out of Grand Central and Penn Station have been substituted with trains running anywhere from five to 25 minutes later, but those will terminate at the Hicksville station.

Because the incident happened on the railroad’s main artery, service will be affected on other branches as well, Free said.

The LIRR is urging riders to consider traveling on other branches, including the Babylon line. He said busing displaced commuters is not feasible because "there’s not enough buses on Long Island to do so."

Five eastbound trains along that branch that were scheduled to terminate at Wantagh will continue east to Babylon to accommodate those impacted by disruptions on the Ronkonkoma line, the MTA said. They will depart Grand Central at 5 p.m. and Penn Station at 5:19 p.m., 5:44 p.m., 6:07 p.m. and 6:34 p.m.

More information can be found here. 

"This is impactful for our whole system," said Free, who called the incident "unacceptable."

Newsday's Nicholas Grasso contributed to this story.

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.