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Fire officials say 76 people were hurt when the train plowed into track 6 at the terminal around 8:30 a.m.; all were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Pictures on social media showed the train tipped slightly at an angle. The platform also appeared to be smoky as emergency personnel flooded the scene. Photos from within the train showed seats toppled to the ground; splintered wood, fire extinguishers and other debris littered the floor.
The LIRR tweeted only that customers should expect delays in and out of the transit hub "due to an incident" at the terminal. Delays were also reported on several subway lines. Aerial NYPD photos showed traffic at a virtual standstill outside the terminal amid a massive emergency presence.
Passengers described the train pulling into the station, followed by a crash and a loud boom, after which the train's doors opened.
"I don't know, all I remember is being on the floor," one visibly shaken woman who had been on the train told NBC 4 New York between tears.
Several people complained of neck and back injuries. Some people were carried away on stretchers; others were sitting outside the train holding ice packs to their heads.
Despite the clear damage, many people were able to walk out.
Danielle Kraese was sitting on a train, waiting for it to leave, when the LIRR train came barreling into the station. She tweeted it was a "silent ride after that."
"I had to change at Jamaica, but no one came around to clip my ticket," Kraese tweeted. "It felt very 'Ride at your own risk.'"
Gov. Cuomo and outgoing MTA chairman Tom Prendergast, who just this week announced his intent to retire in the upcoming weeks, were en route to the scene.
The derailment comes about four months after an NJ Transit train crashed into the Hoboken Terminal in New Jersey, killing a woman on the platform and injuring about 100 other people.
Comment: Commuter train crash at Hoboken, NJ terminal leaves up to 100 injured and reports of 3 dead
A preliminary federal report on the Hoboken crash said the five-car train accelerated from 8 to 21 mph — more than twice the speed limit — as it approached the end of the track Sept. 29, before the emergency brake was engaged in the final second. Engineer Thomas Gallagher, who later was found to be suffering from sleep apnea, told investigators he had no memory of the train speeding up. That investigation is ongoing.
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