NYC Subways Delayed as Heat Wave Wrecks Havoc Across City; “Worst week ever”
In addition to mass outages on the subway system, public transportation systems like NJ Transit and Amtrak were also seeing massive delays of the eight NJ Transit lines operating under some kind of weather delay on July 18. Amtrac was reporting delays of several hours on July 17 and there were scattered power failures in Harlem
| 19 Jul 2024 | 11:11
Clarisa Ochoa uses a hand held fan to try to cool down her partner Salvador Gonzalez while waiting for the A train on July 18. They were visting from Los Angeles. The heat caused massive subway delays all across the city for the second day in a row. Photo: Keith J. Kelly
The concourse at Grand Central which is normally packed with rush hour commuters was empty on July 18 as police shut it down due to a pro-Palestinian protest outside the terminal. But people were directed to ways to snake through tunnels to reach their trains. The small group of protestors wandered off. Photo: Keith J. Kelly
Commuters were told they had to snake their way through underground tunnels to reach trains because the main concourse at Grand Central was closed during the evening rush hour on July 18 due to a pro-Palestinian protest outside the terminal. Photo: Keith J. Kelly
The New York City subway system, along with other public transportation systems across the state, experienced major delays and hold ups as the mid-July heat wave coupled with other problems caused massive delays.
There were also over 900 power outages in Harlem on July 17 with Con Ed dispatching trucks with dry ice to a number of blocks in Harlem so affected residents could try to keep food and beverages cool. The power outages were repaired by the end of the day.
Adding to the mass transit woes on July 18, part of Grand Central was being restricted in the evening rush hour as pro-Palestinian marchers began showing up for a 5:30 p.m. protest at Pershing Square.
Some of the entranceway doors were temporarily closed to commuters even as a short-lived demonstration appeared to fizzle out. “There were here, but they’re heading downtown,” said one NYPD officer who was checking bags at one of the entranceways that remained open. But inside, the main concourse was closed down even as a mass protest failed to materialize.
The rest of the city’s mass transit system was struggling to keep things moving without much success.
”This has been one of the worst weeks in recent memory,” one user posted on the Reddit site r/nycrail.
Added user Jamesmcgill357, “This native New Yorker who takes the subway almost every day, [has] not seen a week like this in years. For real...this has been a disaster week.”
“At the MTA, we are no stranger to extreme weather preparations, whether it’s snow, rain, or extreme heat,” said Janno Lieber, MTA Chair and CEO. “Our game plan is the same–keep employees and riders safe while providing great service.”
But there were problems aplenty. The New York City Transit X (formerly Twitter) page has been alerting New Yorkers all day about delays—some for reasons unrelated to the heat including accidents and maintenance. As of 2:55 p.m. on July 18, the 2, 3, A, B, D, L lines were officially listed as delayed on the MTA website on July 18.
Unofficially, though, there are several lines that are running less often, and less reliably. At the 86th Street station for the 4, 5, and 6 lines, estimated times of arrival will flicker back and forth between displaying actual durations and displaying the word “DELAY.” Additionally, a train might be displayed as actively arriving, with the blinking orange text on the display board, with no train in sight.Sometimes a train will arrive, even as an announcement says not trains are running. An announcement blared over the noise at the busy 34th St. station on Eighth Ave. saying uptown “C” train at 34th St. saidthere was “no uptown C train uptown.”
The announcement was made just as an uptown “C” train pulled into the station while an overhead subway arrival sign was telling passengers that the train in the station at that very moment was not due for 28 minutes.
“This is what takes place when you underinvest in an essential infrastructure system that is 100 years old and getting older all the time,” said Lieber to the New York Post.
NJ Transit is seeing complications as well, with seven of the eight rail lines having alerts of weather-related delays on July 18. “Due to this week’s extreme temperatures, NJ Transit is currently experiencing heat-related rail equipment issues. On Thursday, July 18th and Friday, July 19th, select trains will not operate,” read a statement on the NJ Transit website. “Crews are working around the clock to make repairs.”