(The Associated Press circulated the following article on July 5.)
NEW YORK — An empty train car derailed early Thursday outside a tunnel leading to Pennsylvania Station, causing delays and service cancelations at the height of morning rush hour.
The Long Island Rail Road car came off the tracks around 4:30 a.m. at one end of a rail yard on Manhattan’s West Side. The car had not tipped over, but was positioned at an angle across several tracks, blocking access to some trains parked inside the yard, LIRR spokesman Sam Zambuto said.
The derailment caused scattered delays of up to 30 minutes on parts of the LIRR system. Service on some lines also was canceled while crews worked to right the train car.
The cause of the derailment was being investigated, Zambuto said.
Service on commuter trains to and from New Jersey was not affected, NJ Transit spokeswoman Penny Bassett Hackett said. Amtrak did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
With service stretching 120 miles from the eastern tip of Long Island to Pennsylvania Station, the LIRR carries an average of 274,000 customers each weekday, according to the railroad’s Web site.