Long Island Rail Road service continued to be diverted from Penn Station to Grand Central Terminal Thursday — and NJ Transit service into and out of Manhattan was suspended — after a two-alarm fire in the East River Tunnel between Manhattan and Queens damaged a key junction connecting the tunnel to the station.
The electrical fire began a few hundred feet into tube No. 4 of the four-tube East River Tunnel, sources told The News, at a set of switch tracks that allow trains to access both tube No. 3 and tube No. 4. Smoke conditions were reported on tracks 18, 19, 20 and 21 at the north end of Penn Station.
The fire, which began around 11 a.m., was out by 1 p.m., sources told the Daily News. An FDNY spokesperson told The News that 26 units with 84 fire and EMS personal had been deployed to the scene. No injuries were reported.
But as of Thursday afternoon, neither tube No. 3 nor tube No. 4 were yet operational.
Amtrak, which owns the tunnel, is currently rebuilding tube No. 2 — meaning only one track, located in tube No. 1 — remained in service.
MTA sources told The News Thursday that it was unlikely service would be restored in time for the evening rush hour. LIRR service in Manhattan was expected to continue operating into and out of Grand Central Terminal only.
NJ Transit — which uses the East River Tunnel as a way to store trains from the morning rush hour in Queens’ Sunnyside Yard — was diverting all service to Hoboken Terminal on the other side of the Hudson River.
As of early Thursday afternoon, Amtrak passenger service through Penn Station had resumed with delays.
