A track fire in Harlem has hamstrung the Monday-morning commute, causing major delays and service disruptions along the A, B, C, and D lines. The track fire near 145th Street — or “FDNY activity,” in MTA parlance — is affecting the same lines crippled by a train derailment last month.
At least nine people were injured and hospitalized as a result of the incident, though all injuries are reportedly minor. According to amNY, the fire sparked around 7:30 a.m. Monday morning, as the morning rush got underway. A sick passenger at Grand Street around 8:45 a.m. also further snarled service on the B and D trains. Commuters had to be evacuated from stalled trains, and power was temporarily cut off.
As of about 9 a.m., A trains were running local in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and service was partially suspended from 125th Street to 207th Street in Inwood. The MTA also suspended C train service between Euclid Avenue and 168th Street, and the B and D were facing a slew of changes.
The FDNY said the fire was under control by about 9:30 a.m., and shortly before 10 a.m. MTA announced that service had been restored on the affected lines, but to expect “extensive delays.”
The latest subway disaster comes a week after MTA chair Joe Lhota issued a staff memo to the transit agency saying that riders aren’t wrong to complain. “We aren’t very good right now,” he wrote. Monday’s fed-up commuters would agree:
And woe to anyone seeking transportation alternatives:
This post has been updated throughout.
