Montauk Train Service Resumes

With just days until the Memorial Day weekend, the Long Island Rail Road worked furiously to repair damage to an overpass in East Hampton after a garbage truck slammed into it on Tuesday morning, disrupting service any farther east for 32 hours.

The impact of the truck, which was over the 10-foot height limit, seemed to move the tracks. It caused the structure to be dislodged southward up to one and one quarter inches, according to Salvatore Arena, a spokesman for the L.I.R.R. "It also pushed the track out of both vertical and horizontal alignment," he said.

Police called for L.I.R.R. inspectors to assess the damage and service was immediately halted. Buses transported riders from Bridgehampton to stops farther east on the Montauk line. A crane was brought in to help lift materials.

Railroad track crews first had to cut the continuously welded rail in order for a crane to lift the structure back into place, Mr. Arena said.

"Once the structure had been properly seated back on its bearings at the pier and end abutments, the L.I.R.R. track department crews began the task of resetting and rewelding the rails," he said. "At the same time the . . . structural maintenance forces began repairs to the bearing stiffeners at the pier and end abutments that had sustained substantial deformation and tears due to the impact."

Crews worked all night, into Wednesday, and by early Wednesday evening, service was restored after tests were conducted.

The 4:30 p.m. train from Hunterspoint Avenue was able to continue on to Montauk for a scheduled 7:34 p.m. arrival.

The damages were repaired just in time for the railroad's Cannonball Express train to begin its spring/summer season service on Friday. The first train departs Penn Station at 4:06 p.m. with its two-car Hamptons Reserve Service already sold out, according to a statement from the L.I.R.R. Seats on the 10 remaining coach cars are still available.