New York train derailment injures more than 100 commuters

Emergency responders attend to a call of a train derailed near the community of New Hyde Park on Long Island in New York, US, October 8, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

In late September, a New Jersey Transit train crashed into a terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey, killing one woman and injuring 114 people, including the engineer.

Cuomo, who has made infrastructure improvements a centerpiece of his agenda, said Wednesday's incident was minor in comparison. The most serious injury in the crash was a broken leg, he said.

"There was an extensive damage in Hoboken," Cuomo said. "That train was coming in much faster, did much more damage."

In Brooklyn, commuters described a frightening and chaotic scene on social media. "People flying everywhere," Serena Janae, who said she was a passenger on the derailed train, wrote on Facebook.

The US Federal Railroad Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board said they were sending investigators to the scene.

The Long Island Railroad is the United State's largest commuter rail system, serving more than 330,000 passengers a day, according to the American Public Transportation Association.

Atlantic Terminal, which also connects commuters to nine city subway lines, is one of the busiest New York stations.

There were no major service disruptions for other Long Island Railroad lines at the terminal, an MTA official said. Earlier, officials said crews were working to restore service at the terminal by the evening rush hour.