Gov. Kathy Hochul, MTA address response to flooding that upended subway and train service
NEW YORK -- Subways and commuter rail lines around the New York City area are back to normal Saturday after several lines were suspended for hours Friday because of severe flooding.
At a news conference Saturday morning, Gov. Kathy Hochul said trains were running with normal weekend service and thanked crews for their hard work to restore the lines.
"They have the same commuting challenges as everybody else in New York does. They showed up. They stayed around the clock. They consumed a lot of coffee and pizzas, but they got the job done, and making sure that we could get back as soon as possible," Hochul said.
During the worst of the flooding, almost half of the city's subway lines were either suspended or delayed.
Parts of the city were slammed with more than seven inches of rain in 24 hours, so water gushing into the system was inevitable, the MTA said.
Metro-North service into and out of Grand Central was impacted because the system's electrified third rail network in the Bronx was submerged.
The storm impacted major roadways, too. At one point, parts of the FDR Drive, Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and Belt Parkway were closed because of flash flooding.
"There are some New Yorkers who've never seen the likes of which we experienced yesterday. I mean in they're entire lives. This event was historic. In some areas it was record-shattering," Hochul said. "All of the subways are operational. Metro-North below Southeast station, Long Island Rail Road and the Paratransit services are all functioning this morning. But it's not just about our main focus, which is to protect the passengers. We had to protect the infrastructure of our trains and subways, even as the floodwaters were pouring into the systems."
The storm added hours to regular commute times.
The MTA said crews prepared prior to the storm by flushing drains with fresh water to clear debris. During the storm, crews pumped water away from the tracks to get service restored.