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New York subway and bus service restoration to begin, officials announce New York subway and bus service restoration to begin, officials announce
(about 9 hours later)
After it was paralyzed by the devastating impact of superstorm Sandy, New York government officials were taking the first steps back to normality by restarting the city's public transport system. After it was paralyzed by the devastating impact of superstorm Sandy, New York government officials were taking the first steps back to normality by restarting the city's public transport system and waiving fares for the next two days.
At a press conference in midtown Manhattan, officials from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that limited commuter rail service on Metro North and the Long Island Rail Road would begin at 2pm Wednesday afternoon. Officials from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that the subway system would resume a limited service on Thursday morning. Some commuter rail services on Metro North and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) were restored at 2pm Wednesday.
They also announced that the subway system would resume a very limited service on Thursday morning, north of 34th Street. There will be no service in Lower Manhattan because the area is almost entirely without electrical power. New York state governor Andrew Cuomo announced in a late-night news conference that MTA services, including subway, Metro North, LIRR and New York City bus services would be free on Thursday and Friday.
A shuttle bus service, operated by 330 vehicles, will operate between 34th Street and three stations in Brooklyn. The MTA said other measures were under consideration, including the restriction of passenger cars in Manhattan. Cuomo said car traffic in New York on Wednesday had reached "dangerous" levels and that he wanted to incentivise travellers to use public transit. Separately, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that cars would only be allowed over the city-controlled bridges into Manhattan if they had three or more passengers.
There was still no word on when a full service on the 108-year-old system might resume. The MTA said its limited subway service would begin at 6am on Thursday. Trains will operate on lines north of 34th Street in Manhattan towards the Bronx and Queens. A separate service will operate within Brooklyn and parts of Queens.
New York state governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters that everyone in the city was working flat out to get power back online which would allow more of the transit system to be restored. The services will be linked up by a shuttle bus, operated by 330 vehicles, between 34th Street and three stations in Brooklyn. There will be no service in Lower Manhattan because the area is almost entirely without electrical power.
Restoration of the rail and subway system is likely to lead to an easing of the gigantic traffic jams that have plagued Manhattan and approaches to New York all day. In the absence of public transport many people came into the city to work using their cars and huge backlogs of traffic built up in the streets.
The situation in lower Manhattan has also been hampered by a lack of electricity meaning there are no working traffic lights.
Buses in the city began working late on Tuesday night and were the first element of the network to start working again. A near-normal bus service ran on Wednesday, but services were over-run with passengers.
Bloomberg said he hoped the subway would be back to near-normal by Monday. The New York City marathon will go ahead on Sunday, he said.
At his first briefing of the day, Cuomo told reporters that everyone in the city was working flat out to get power back online which would allow more of the transit system to be restored.
"In terms of power restorations, we're working very hard," he said. "The situation is developing on a day-to-day basis.""In terms of power restorations, we're working very hard," he said. "The situation is developing on a day-to-day basis."
Buses in the city began working late on Tuesday night and were the first element of the network to start working again. ConEdison, the main New York City power company, said it had restored power to a limited area of Lower Manhattan on Wednesday. In this neighbourhood, in south-east tip of Manhattan, the power supply had been protected by an early shutdown on Monday.
Any restoration of the rail and subway system is likely to lead to an easing of the gigantic traffic jams that have plagued Manhattan and approaches to New York all day. In the absence of public transport many people have come into the city to work using their cars and huge backlogs of traffic have built up in the streets with journeys that should take minutes taking much longer. The situation in lower Manhattan has also been hampered by a lack of electricity meaning there are no working traffic lights. However it will be some days before power is restored to most of Lower Manhattan. Most homes and businesses in the area are unlikely to be brought back online before the weekend.