A power outage at the DeKalb Avenue station stalled trains across the borough and stranded Southern Brooklyn straphangers during the Tuesday morning rush. It was an absolute mess that wasn’t helped by the transit authority’s confused —and confusing — resposne, said one incensed commuter.
“What the hell is going on with these damn trains?” said Bay Ridgite John Moretti, who waited nearly two hours at the 86th Street station on the R line before finally getting a train. “First we were told ‘no service,’ then they told us, ‘Go wait for a shuttle bus,’ then they said, ‘the R train is running again,’ but it’s not here. It’s infuriating — I could have gone to work and come back in this time.”
Hundreds of commuters spilled out of Bay Ridge and Sunset Park stations after R train service halted due to the second Downtown power cut within a week. Service in both directions came to a standstill at roughly 9 am when a power outage at the Dekalb Avenue stop caused signal delays, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s website.
The 86th Street station in Bay Ridge and the 36th Street station in Sunset Park were so stuffed, straphangers were dangerously skirting the edge of the subway platform. Those fed up with waiting for nonexistent trains and phantom shuttles tried to take nearby bus lines, but those two were crammed with commuters.
“I tried to take the B63, but everyone and their mother had that idea, and there were way too many people,” said Bay Ridgite Jess Morris. “I heard service was back up, so I went to wait for the train again, but I’m getting nowhere fast. My boss is not going to be happy.”
But the morning wasn’t a total loss. Some drivers took pity on fellow commuters and offered spare seats to stranded straphangers — forming brief but intense bonds over their shared fury at the transit system.
The electrical snafu also shuttered service on the B line between Brighton Beach and Bedford Park Boulevard in both directions. Coney Island-bound D trains were running on the C and F lines, while Manhattan-bound trains simply terminated at Sunset Park’s 36th Street stop.
R trains were running on the N line between Atlantic Avenue and Canal Street in both directions, and “some” southbound N and Q trains shuttered at Canal Street, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s twitter.
Service has since resumed with extensive delays.
Check the transit authority’s website for updated info on your local route.
