Thousands evacuated from subway trains in Brooklyn after power loss, MTA says
NEW YORK — Thousands of subway riders had to be evacuated from two trains in Brooklyn on Wednesday evening after a power loss, the MTA said.
According to the MTA, power was lost between the Jay Street-MetroTech and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Streets stations in Downtown Brooklyn just before 5:30 p.m.
Video shows firefighters rescuing stranded subway riders in Brooklyn
Two F trains got stuck and had to be evacuated, the MTA said. About 3,500 total riders were on the two trains and the evacuations took nearly three hours, according to the MTA.
Video shows firefighters pulling riders out of subway grates onto the sidewalk.
"The FDNY does train for this specifically. Of course, passenger safety is the most important issue here, particularly when the power's out underground. It's not only dark down there, but of course, there's always the possibility of the energy coming back on with the third rail," said Glenn Gorbett, a fire rescue expert and associate professor at John Jay College.
According to the New York City Fire Department, at least one person had to be taken to a local hospital.
The MTA said three other trains were "briefly" stuck, but were eventually able to move backward to return to the station they had left.
NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow released the following statement:
"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. Fortunately, evacuations were orderly and there appear to be no serious injuries. NYC Transit will work with Con Ed to understand how a limited outage in a redundant system could create a significant disruption to service."
Con Edison said regular subway service should be restored by the Thursday morning commute, and they are working closely with the MTA to figure out what happened.
The outage impacted service on the A, C, F and G lines in Manhattan and Brooklyn for several hours.
A/C/F/G lines impacted by power loss
As of 10 p.m. Wednesday, A trains are running on the local track between Hoyt-Schermerhorn Streets and Euclid Avenue, and A and C trains are running with delays in both directions.
Commuters in Manhattan should consider taking the 1 as an alternative.
The MTA says the Long Island Rail Road is cross-honoring MetroCard holders and OMNY users between Penn Station/Grand Central-Madison and Far Rockaway, and between Atlantic Terminal and Jamaica.
The MTA says most F trains are running via the D line in both directions between West Fourth Street-Washington Square and Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue.
There is no F train service between Broadway-Lafayette Street and Jay Street-MetroTech. F train service is limited between Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue and Church Avenue.
G trains have resumed running between Church Avenue and Bedford-Nostrand Avenues after being suspended Wednesday evening.
For the latest service updates, visit new.mta.info.
