(Newsday circulated the following article by Jennifer Maloney on March 7.)
NEW YORK — The Long Island Power Authority is conducting aerial inspections along 130 miles of Long Island Rail Road tracks and plans to replace fraying wires and faulty equipment within two months, LIPA President Richard Kessel said Tuesday.
Downed LIPA wires caused three major LIRR service disruptions last month, affecting more than 50,000 riders.
All three incidents involved aged and weakened “static wires” — non-electrified lines that act as lightning rods, LIPA officials said.
“This is a top priority for us,” Kessel said. “Some are 40 or 50 years old.”
A special team will respond to future incidents involving the railroad, he said.
LIRR Acting President Ray Kenny said LIPA’s response team — and better coordination between the agencies — will allow the railroad to make more informed decisions, such as providing emergency buses, and, “most importantly, share information with passengers who are affected.”
So far, the fly-overs have identified five faulty connections in LIRR substations near Floral Park and Lynbrook. Those repairs will be complete in about two weeks, Kessel said.
Faulty connections between static wires and towers near LIRR tracks were responsible for two recent incidents:
On Feb. 2, a static wire dangling across seven tracks east of Valley Stream forced the LIRR to suspend service for 31/2 hours on the Babylon, Far Rockaway, Long Beach and West Hempstead branches.
On Feb. 20, a downed wire just east of the Valley Stream station disrupted service on the Far Rockaway branch.
On Valentine’s Day, a wire that had been weakened earlier by a lightning strike snapped during an ice and wind storm, LIPA officials said.
Kessel said the problem of static wires surfaced only recently.
LIPA lines caused seven LIRR disruptions in 2005 and 2006, but none involved static wires. In all but one case, storms knocked tree branches onto LIPA distribution wires.
“We’ve never had a static wire come down until this February,” Kessel said.
The first 30 miles of aerial inspection, which began Saturday, will take three weeks. The remaining 100 miles will take about six weeks, LIPA officials said.