A mystery mishap knocked out power to the subway signal system just in time for rush hour on Tuesday morning — causing chaos for thousands of Big Apple commuters.
The morning commute was thrown into chaos for thousands of subway riders because of a mystery mishap that knocked out power to the signal system in the middle of morning rush hour Tuesday as the city was locked in a sweltering heat wave.
The heat and aging infrastructure could be the reason a breaker was flipped at West 4 St-Washington Square, New York City Transit’s president told reporters after power had been restored and straphangers vowed to exact revenge by jumping fares.
“What’s still under investigation at this time is what caused the breaker to trip,” president Demetrius Crichlow said, adding MTA employees had already determined Con Edison was not the issue.
“In extreme temperatures like this, we can put a strain on the system. And so that, with aging infrastructure — it could be one of those two things,” Crichlow said.
Crews responded within 20 minutes of the power kicking out at 8:32 a.m and no riders had medical emergencies during the outage, Crichlow said. But thousands of riders on trains D, B, F, A, C, E still suffered massive delays on their morning rides.
Stalled riders took to social media to rage over bedlam.
“Give us our money back with interest for all the time wasted, this is insane,” @madgrudges replied to the MTA’s post informing riders of the delays.
Trains were not expected to be back on “regular headway” until a little after noon, Crichlow said.
The displaced riders, desperate to get to work on time, flooded other train lines in a scene described as “total chaos” by one user.
“Are any trains running? Total chaos today and no one can get to work. Unacceptable,” @chagaleahnyc said on X.
“The way you people handle this stuff is such an embarrassment,” user @mcfc_dc14 replied to the MTA. “A bunch of kindergarteners would do a better job.”
Crichlow, sweating in a button up shirt and tie, told reporters he took the 1 train from MTA headquarters in the financial district to the West 4th station shortly after hearing about the outage to “support the team.”
“The reality is, it’s our job to provide great service to our customers, and we are aiming to do that,” Crichlow said.
Still, angry subway riders vowed to recoup their losses by skipping the fare the next time they ride the subway.
“Gotta jump some turnstiles to recoup my losses. Thanks for the stellar service,” @tynyc81 tweeted at the MTA.
“Don’t worry, just skip the fare next time so it will be even from there,” user itachimaster666 advised another rider on X.
Other riders also complained about paying the $2.90 fare for bad subway service.
“Raising fares for what? Where is the money going? Why is there a problem with the system every single day,” user @fireb1rd1024 tweeted at the MTA.
Crichlow had angry words for riders who planned to skip the fare.
“I’m not supportive of anyone that comes here and wants to jump the system,” Crichlow said.
“They should find someplace else to move if they don’t like our transportation network,“ the 28-year MTA veteran fumed.
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