QUEENS — Inspectors found a broken rail on the F line less than a week after an express train derailed nearby, injuring 19 people, including four who were hospitalized, officials said.
The break was found Tuesday on the Jamaica-bound express track during a routine inspection just north of 36th Street in Astoria about 3:10 a.m., an MTA spokeswoman said.
The discovery came as MTA officials were searching for a batch of rails that shipped with the one that broke on Friday.
Express trains were rerouted to the local line until normal service resumed at 6:47 a.m., the spokeswoman added.
About a mile away from where inspectors found the break, a Manhattan-bound express F train derailed just south of 65th Street Friday morning. Some 19 people were injured including four who were hospitalized, officials said.
Six of the train’s eight cars were off the rails. The cause of the derailment has not been determined, the spokeswoman said.
