Straphangers Left Sweaty And Frustrated As Power Outage Delays Multiple Subway Lines
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A power outage at the MTA's Rail Control Center caused extensive delays across multiple lines in the New York City subway system Wednesday.
The problem was first reported around 1 p.m. Initially, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said via Twitter and its website that the entire subway system was affected, but the agency later said that was not the case and only the No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 lines were ever affected.
The outage forced the MTA to dispatch each train individually, causing crowds at some subway station platforms.
Service resumed with delays about an hour later.
However, the six affected lines were still experiencing major delays because during the afternoon rush of signal problems, according to the agency's website.
Countdown Clock information was also unavailable.
As CBS2's Christine Sloan reported, trains never stopped running but major delays still meant a long stressful day for subway riders stuck in hot, muggy train stations getting nowhere.
"It's a sweaty day for sure," Bonnie Rosales said, "There's no express trains, and I just took about an hour from 86th Street to here."
Here meaning Union Square.
Straphangers were waiting everywhere including Penn Station, all because the power went out at the subway's nerve center in Manhattan that controls the trains by computer.
Even with trains running the delays were major, but the MTA said the backup system immediately kicked in, and no one was trapped in subway cars.
Trains were running slower because they had to be dispatched locally, instead of remotely.
It was not immediately clear when the issue would be resolved.
Check the MTA website for more information.
