Information boards at Grand Central display current Metro-North updates. Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin
As first responders and rescue crews continue to work at the site of an explosion and subsequent building collapse next to the Metro-North tracks at 116th St. in Manhattan, the MTA has announced service plans in effect until further notice. Essentially, the agency is urging riders attempting to reach points north to take the subway to the Bronx and transfer at nearby stations where Metro-North tickets will be cross-honored. Here’s the overview:
Harlem Line & New Haven Line
Southbound customers from the New Haven Line and Harlem Line will get off at the Harlem Line stations or Wakefield or Woodlawn for a short walk to the No. 2 for service to Manhattan. Customers can transfer to the No. 5 at E. 180th Street for East Side destinations.Northbound customers for all Harlem and New Haven Line stations should take the No. 5 subway to East 180th Street and transfer to the No. 2 subway north to the 233rd Street Station, where they can walk a short distance to the Metro-North’s Woodlawn Station.
Hudson Line
Hudson Line customers should take the No. 4 to 161st Street Station (Yankee Stadium) and walk west to Metro-North’s Yankees – East 153rd Street station for service to points north. The D subway also goes to 161st Street.Southbound Hudson Line customers will go to Yankees-East 153rd Street and transfer to the No. 4 or D subways, or to Marble Hill and transfer to the No. 1 subway at 225th Street, an elevated station.
According to the MTA, there are currently no stranded trains, but power has been cut to the third rails of all four tracks near the explosion. The MTA urges customers to “consider limiting travel today if they can,” but as the explosion occurred at the tail end of rush hour, most commuters were already in the city this evening. It’s not clear that this situation will be resolved by the evening rush, and I’ll update this post as more information becomes available.
10 comments
Southbound customers on NH and Harlem are going to love that up hill walk to the 2.
They need the excersize.
Train commuters tend to be in better shape than car commuters, on the whole.
Can they not have trains terminate at 125th for some reason? Or is it just that the entire viaduct structure may be compromised so they want to let people off in the Bronx? Or do they just not want trainfuls of gawkers descending on Harlem to go check out the damage?
125th Street is awfully close to 116 Street, I assume it has something to do with where power has been cut and possible damage to the viaduct.
My immediate thought is to run trains from the Harlem and New Haven Lines around Mott Haven wye and make everything originate and terminate at Yankee Stadium?
Woodlawn is one makeshift terminus. There is just one measly staircase down from street level (an overpass bridge) to the Northbound track and the platform can only accommodate 4 or 6 cars.
This event – and most importantly the loss of life – is just awful. My heart goes out to the families and the individuals affected. But this event also brings to mind the importance of Penn Station Access.
Agree on all points. This shutdown really brings to light why Penn Station access is so important to the region as a whole & not just MNR passengers. One would hope that this would be the watershed moment to move this project foward, but I’m not holding my breath.
This explosion and the resulting tragic loss of life should re-emphasize that the continued deterioration of the city’s infrastructure and the lack of system flexibility have serious consequences.
Do we know the cause of the explosion yet?
A natural gas smell was reported 15-minutes prior to the explosion. It is safe to assume that there was a leak.