LIRR service restored after train strikes man in Merrick
MTA and Nassau police were at the Merrick LIRR station where a person was hit by a westbound train at 8:48 a.m. on Friday. Credit: John Scalesi
A morning rush hour Long Island Rail Road train struck a person on the tracks at Merrick station Friday, LIRR officials said.
The incident happened shortly before 8:30 a.m. The railroad, in a message to customers, reported delays on the Babylon line “due to a person being struck by a train.”
Railroad spokesperson Joana Flores said the person, who officials did not identify, was “removed alive” from the scene and taken to Nassau University Medical Center.
Flores said the person struck is male, and that he was in critical, but stable condition, and is expected to survive. She said the incident did not appear to be "criminal or accidental in nature."
The railroad reported cancellations and scattered delays averaging from 15 to 20 minutes on the Babylon line. Full service was restored around 10:30 a.m., but some residual delays lingered through late morning.
The westbound train, which was bound for Penn Station, remained at the station until about 10 a.m. LIRR workers and MTA police gathered behind yellow police tape at the elevated station, as commuters waited for trains on the opposite track.
Police scoured the tracks looking for evidence and collecting it in a brown paper bag.
It was the latest in a string of train safety incidents at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the first two weeks of 2024.
A person was struck and killed by an LIRR train in Copiague on Monday afternoon. On Jan. 4, a train hit a vehicle at a crossing near Wyandanch.
Also on Jan. 4, a pair of 1 subway trains collided in Manhattan's Upper West Side, injuring two dozen people.
Then, on Wednesday, an F train derailed in Coney Island with 37 people on board. None were injured.
Train travelers were also impacted by a "communications issue" that temporarily shut down Amtrak service between Philadelphia and New York Friday morning.
Around 11 a.m. Friday, Amtrak told its customers that because of the issue, which involved switches and signals, "all services scheduled to travel in that area are suspended until further notice."
Shortly before noon, Amtrak officials said service had resumed between New York and Philadelphia, but residual delays are expected.
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.
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