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Long Island Rail Road Service Returning To Hard-Hit Long Beach

LONG BEACH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The Long Island Rail Road is restoring limited weekday service on its Long Beach branch.

That means all 10 LIRR branches are now running trains connecting New York City and Long Island for the first time since Superstorm Sandy struck two weeks ago.

Long Beach was among the hardest hit Long Island communities in the storm.

Governor Andrew Cuomo made the announcement on Tuesday. He said starting Wednesday, trains will run about every two hours.

Diesel trains that don't require electric power will run between Long Beach and Lynbrook. Commuters can connect with New York-bound trains at Lynbrook.

Three of the four electrical substations along the Long Beach branch that feed electricity to the third rail were heavily damaged by flooding.

Last Wednesday, the LIRR was hit hard by a November nor'easter that suspended service system-wide not once, but twice.

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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