A Long Island Rail Road passenger train derailed on Saturday near the community of New Hyde Park, New York, injuring dozens of people and forcing suspension of service on the key transit line in both directions, railroad and police officials said.

Official details were not immediately available on the precise circumstances and severity of the incident, which occurred at about 9 p.m. local time, when a passenger train struck a work train about 20 miles (32 km) east of Manhattan, according to police.

It was not immediately clear if the work train was stationary at the time.

An estimated 50 to 100 people were hurt in the accident, though none of the injuries was believed to be life-threatening, Nassau County Police spokeswoman Mary Verna told Reuters by telephone.

The Long Island Rail Road's New Hyde Park station is just east of the border with the New York City borough of Queens. The rail line is one of the busiest commuter routes into America's largest city.

Saturday's accident on Long Island comes nine days after a passenger train crashed into a terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey, a major commuter route from New York City's western suburbs. That crash killed one person and injured more than 100.