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Fire Disrupts Metro-North Rail Service Out of Grand Central Thousands Stranded as Fire Disrupts Metro-North Rail Service
(about 1 hour later)
Metro-North Railroad train service in and out of Grand Central Terminal was suspended on Tuesday because of a fire, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said. Metro-North Railroad service in and out of Grand Central Terminal was suspended on Tuesday night because of a fire in East Harlem near the train’s elevated tracks, affecting thousands of commuters.
The disruption was affecting service on the Harlem, Hudson and New Haven lines, according to the authority’s website. The disruption affected service on the Harlem, Hudson and New Haven lines, said Meredith Daniels, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Trains were still running north of the site of the fire.
Thick black smoke could be seen at 119th Street and Park Avenue, according to a post on Twitter. Ms. Daniels said that the railroad was sending structural engineers to inspect the tracks and that she had no estimate about when service would resume. She could not say specifically how many trains or passengers had been affected.
The New York Fire Department said that construction debris and construction trailers were on fire and that it had more than 160 firefighters and 39 units at the scene. The fire was reported at 6:42 p.m. The New York Fire Department said at 8:25 p.m. that firefighters had a majority of the fire, at 119th Street and Park Avenue, under control. No injuries were reported.
A department spokesman said at 8 p.m. that it would be an “extensive operation” and that propane tanks at the construction site were involved in the fire. The department said that debris and construction trailers were on fire and that it had more than 160 firefighters and 39 units at the scene. The fire was reported at 6:42 p.m.
A spokeswoman for Metro-North, Meredith Daniels, said the third rail that powers the trains had been shut off from 110th to 125th Streets. She said a “smoke condition” was disrupting service. Ms. Daniels said the third rail, which powers the trains, had been shut off from 110th to 125th Street.
Ms. Daniels said that the railroad was sending structural engineers to inspect the elevated tracks and that she had no estimate about when service would resume. She could not immediately say how many trains or passengers had been affected. Nicole Clarke, of Rye, N.Y., said she waited at Grand Central for 30 minutes before abandoning plans to take Metro-North.
Passengers and others posted about the situation on Twitter: “When I got to that place, it was a mess,” Ms. Clarke said. “They couldn’t tell us anything, nothing.”
Frank Fallon of Harrison, N.Y., a passenger on a train headed to New Haven, said he had been stuck for 30 minutes and was told at 7:25 p.m. that Metro-North was taking the train back to Grand Central. The train had been stopped between 98th and 99th Streets, he said. She said that she was taking a subway to Eastchester-Dyre Avenue and 233rd Street in the Bronx and that her husband would pick her up from there. She said what would ordinarily be a 45-minute trip would probably take two hours.
At the terminal, an announcement warned passengers that all northbound trains were “subject to indefinite delays at this time.”
The main hall was packed with commuters standing nearly shoulder to shoulder and up and down the grand stairways.
Linda Vanderperre, who works on Wall Street and uses the Larchmont station, said she had been waiting over 90 minutes for what would be customarily a 40-minute commute.
“It’s beyond ridiculous,” Ms. Vanderperre said. “This is the second day in a row it’s taken me over two hours to get home from Wall Street.”
She looked into using Uber, but she estimated it would cost her around $150 because of surge pricing.
“My husband is coming to pick me up if I’m still stuck here at 9,” she said.