MNR trains currently running out of Yankee Stadium stop
An aerial shot of the fire on the bridge spanning the Harlem River at 138th St. (Photo via WTNH)
(Update 2:16 p.m.): All Metro-North service to and from Grand Central is currently suspended due to a fire on the pier underneath the 138th St. Lift Bridge that spans the Harlem River. Although the fire has been nearly extinguished, MTA officials say service across the bridge will not run “any time soon.” Instead, Metro-North service will run north from Yankee Stadium, and southbound service, operating hourly, will terminate at the stadium stop.
Nearly 250,000 commuters will find their commutes significantly slowed tonight. For service out of the city, Metro-North officials are urging commuters to take the 4, B or D trains to Yankee Stadium from which the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines will all operate. For access to Grand Central and points south, Harlem and New Haven line customers should board the 2 or 5 at Woodlawn while Hudson line customers can catch the 4, B or D at Yankee Stadium or the 1 at Marble Hill-225th Street.
“All northbound Metro-North service this afternoon and probably this evening will be staged out of Metro-North’s new Yankees – E 153rd Street station,” Metro-North said this afternoon in a statement. “Customers should take the #4 or D subway to 161st Street and walk west to the new MNR station. Transit is cross-honoring MNR tickets and passes for southbound travel. Northbound customers will have to buy a MetroCard.”
The fire started at approximately 11:45 a.m. when a transformer on the bridge exploded, the city’s Office of Emergency Management said. A train passing over the span was able to pass through unharmed. Officials say that the bridge has suffered heat damage to the concrete underpinnings, the track tracks and electrical equipment. The MTA does not know when Metro-North service to and from Grand Central will be restored.
New York firefighters and Coast Guard boats work to extinguish the fire across the 138th St. bridge. (Photo via FDNY)
I’ll continue to update this post as more information becomes available.
10 comments
4/D train to Fordham Rd, catch RR there?
Will the Yankee Clipper which goes straight to Yankee Stadium from The New Haven Line be running?
Right now, no service on the New Haven Line. I’m trying to track down information on tonight’s Yankee game service, but Metro-North doesn’t have an update yet.
Best bet for people until service is restored will be to get off at Fordham Road and take the SBS12 to various subway lines. This is my daily commute and I expect to have company today!
“According to New York 1, a train had been passing over the bridge when the transformer exploded, but the MTA was able to get the bridge off of the train.”
Good thing they were able to save that train from the bridge…otherwise it would’ve been a disaster!
[…] « Fire suspends all Metro-North service to GCT Sep […]
[…] late-morning fire at the 138th St. Lift Bridge that spans the Harlem River had shuttered all Metro-North service to and from Grand Central. As of twenty minutes ago, however, commuter trains are again servicing […]
[…] late-morning fire at the 138th St. Lift Bridge that spans the Harlem River had shuttered all Metro-North service to and from Grand Central. As of twenty minutes ago, however, commuter trains are again servicing […]
I was driving (I know…. shame on me) on the Harlem River Drive about an hour ago and saw two trains, one in each direction, crossing the bridge. Unless I was hallucinating after a bad day – not good to do while driving – it looks like it’s back in operation.
[…] across the Harlem River, and for nearly four hours from 11:45 a.m. to around 3:30 p.m., the bridge burned. Officials feared damage to the structure, but Metro-North ran regular rush hour service to and […]