After Rail Snafus, LIPA to Look at Lines

By Jennifer Maloney, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Feb. 19–The Long Island Power Authority will inspect all transmission lines along Long Island Rail Road tracks and all electrical substations serving the railroad, after downed wires caused major delays twice in two weeks, LIPA president and chief executive Richard Kessel said yesterday.

“We want to just take an overall look and inventory of the lines … to make sure that they’re in good shape and that we have as few interruptions as possible,” Kessel said.

On Feb. 2, a nonelectrified wire dangling across seven LIRR tracks east of the Valley Stream station forced the railroad to suspend service for 3 1/2 hours on the Babylon, Far Rockaway, Long Beach and West Hempstead branches. Fifty-six trains were delayed or canceled, affecting 30,000 people, the LIRR said. LIPA officials said the wire fell because a metal bracket broke inside a power substation.

On Wednesday, during the snow and ice storm, another nonelectrified wire fell across two tracks east of the Seaford station on the Babylon branch. Service was suspended about an hour on one track and about 3 1/2 hours on the other, the LIRR said.

About 20,000 people and 34 trains were affected. In this case, the wire itself split, said LIPA spokesman Bert Cunningham.

LIPA and railroad officials said downed lines don’t often affect the railroad.

“We don’t see any endemic problems,” Kessel said. “I think we’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Kessel said the review will take a couple of months.

Railroad and LIPA staff also will meet this week to conduct a joint review of the two recent incidents, said LIRR Acting President Ray Kenny. “In any major incident, we can always improve our response and we have to anticipate what could happen in the future,” he said.

LIPA is still investigating why the wire broke Feb. 14.

“When you have 40- to 50-mile an hour winds and ice, wires are going to come down,” Kessel said. “I think that overall, our transmission system that goes along the railroad is in very good shape.”

Kessel added that since last year, LIPA has been “hardening” equipment and lines — including along LIRR routes — as part of a 20-year, $500 million program to increase resistance to storms. LIPA’s review will consider hardening more lines and equipment along railroad tracks by the end of the year.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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