NEW YORK (AFP) - A rush-hour collision between two commuter trains in a suburb north of New York City resulted in dozens of people being injured late on Friday, railway officials.

"There are around 50 people injured. Four are serious to critically injured," a railway official told AFP.

The crash occurred between a train headed to New York and one traveling the opposite direction en route to New Haven, Connecticut.

The accident took place near the Connecticut city of Bridgeport at around 6:00 pm (6am on Saturday, Singapore time), a spokesman for the Metro North commuter train line said, adding that there were "no fatalities."

The accident backed up train travel in both directions along a stretch of the US east coast from New York to Boston, Massachusetts.

The New York Post newspaper reported that the accident occurred along a stretch of train track that was undergoing repairs. Authorities said they were trying to determine the cause of the accident.

Metro North, one of America's busiest commuter rail lines, serves some 280,000 passengers each day, company officials said.