MTA power outage leaves 3,500 NYC subway riders stranded on trains for hours
The commute home for thousands of New Yorkers became the thing of nightmares when they got stuck underground for hours after a power outage stranded two F trains — forcing them to evacuate through the subway tunnels and service exits.
Approximately 3,500 straphangers spread between the two trains had to be rescued by firefighters when the power went out around 5:30 p.m. between the Jay Street/MetroTech and Hoyt-Schermerhorn stations, according to the MTA.
The two F trains were in between stations and couldn’t move without the power, leaving commuters stuck without AC in the tunnel for more than two hours before FDNY personnel were able to get to them.
The trapped riders were eventually led off the stalled trains by firefighters into dark subway tunnels and up service stairways that led to trapdoors in the middle of Brooklyn sidewalks, according to photos of the debacle shared on social media.
“Trapped in an unpowered rush hour F train with no a/c for the last 70 minutes til FDNY got us out through a damn maintenance tunnel at Smith and Atlantic,” one of the evacuated riders tweeted alongside a photo of a people walking up a steep graffiti-covered stairwell.
Another straphanger complained that the whole experience was a “s–t show” but commended the MTA staffers and firefighters who helped New Yorkers through the hellish ride.
“Absolutely brutal commute, stuck on the F train for 2 hours before making an emergency exit via the subway track and stairs to the street,” Jennifer Young said on X. “Complete sh*tshow but gotta credit FDNY and the MTA staff on our train for getting us through it!
Every rider and MTA staffer on the two trains were evacuated by 8:20 p.m., according to the MTA and the FDNY.
Four suffered minor injuries — including three people who refused medical attention and one person was brought to NYU Langone – Cobble Hill, fire officials said.
“We thank the hundreds of transit workers, firefighters, NYPD officers and responders from other agencies who worked to quickly assist riders on two trains stuck between stations following a Con Ed power failure,” NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said in a statement.
“Fortunately, evacuations were orderly and there appear to be no serious injuries.”
One of the trapped F-train riders said he witnessed a range of emotions among their fellow commuters as they sat hostage on the stalled AC-less subways past the two-hour mark.
“Some people were kind of losing it,” Anders Nelson, 42, told Gothamist.
A few were even forced to relieve themselves between the train cars, he said.
But others bonded over their shared misfortune, sharing water and food.
“People were passing out cookies. It became a little community thing,” he told the publication.
Three other subway trains were briefly stalled in the tunnels during the power outage, but all three were able to move backward into stations with power, according to the transit authority.
The outage also caused delays, disruptions and alternate routes along the A,C, F and G lines which continued overnight.
Con Edison is working on getting power restored well before the Thursday morning commute and the MTA is partnering with the power supplier to pinpoint the cause of the mess.
“NYC Transit will work with Con Ed to understand how a limited outage in a redundant system could create a significant disruption to service,” Crichlow said.
