Asides

Updated (2:30 p.m.): As the MTA readies a plan to reactivate the area’s transit network in the wake of Hurricane Irene, city and authority officials warned that full subway and commuter rail service will not return any time soon, but New York City Transit will begin restoring bus service at 5 p.m. today. To get the subways and commuter rail up and running, the MTA must first make a full assessment of its system. “This is a difficult process. There is damage,” MTA CEO and Chair Jay Walder said. “It’s going to take some time.”

During the Mayor’s press conference the year, Walder explained the challenges that await the MTA. While the East River tunnels did not flood, the three Metro-North lines all experienced severe flood damage and potential erosion, and the MTA must assess every part of its system including tracks, signals and tunnels. They cannot restore service until non-revenue trains pass through the system, and the MTA will also have to get its employees to work without the benefit of a subway system. “The actions we took yesterday were right,” Walder said.

While bus service will begin to return this afternoon, the subways remain a challenge. For instance, there are, according to Walder, “virtually no trains” located in Brooklyn right now, and returning trains to their rail yards will be a timely process. With no timetable in place yet, the MTA hopes to reactivate the bus network first as that equipment is “fine.” Getting drivers to work remains a challenge, and city officials anticipate a slow ride on Monday. “Tough commute tomorrow,” the Mayor said, “but we have tough commutes all the time.”

As The Weather Channel lays out right here in painstaking detail, a major hurricane is currently on course to hit the northeast this weekend. Hurricane Irene has the potential to be among the strongest storms to hit the area in decades, and concerns over a storm surge are rising. As with any major rainstorm, the subways are indeed vulnerable, and the MTA is currently working on plans concerning flood-prone areas of the transit system.

This afternoon, I checked in with the authority, and they issued the following statement in advance of the storm: “The MTA is working closely with the Governor’s Office, the Mayor’s Office, State, City and County OEMs to track the storm and begin coordinated preparations. Internally, we are making arrangements to bring in extra personnel over the weekend, preparing our facilities and infrastructure by clearing drains, securing work sites against possible high winds, checking and fueling equipment, stocking supplies, and establishing plans to move equipment and supplies away from low-lying areas as needed.”

Right now, a few days out, the storm is something the MTA appears to be taking seriously. After getting blindsided by a snow storm in December and impacted by rain a week or two ago, the threat of serious weather has Transit on alert. I’ll provide any updates that come my way as the week progresses (and, on an unrelated note, I’ll have a post up about the Straphangers’ latest report this evening).

Updated (4:45 p.m.): At approximately 1:51 p.m., a earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale struck near Richmond, Virginia, and the shocks were felt up and down the east coast. Currently, however, the MTA says everything is fine with their network. A Transit spokesman told me there is “no impact on service” from the quake, and the MTA just posted a similar statement to Twitter. “There are no impacts to subway, bus or LIRR or Metro-North service as a result of the earthquake,” they said. While JFK and Newark airports have been shut down, PATH reports that its trains are operating normally as well.

Later in the afternoon, the MTA issued another statement: “Operating personnel conducting preliminary inspections and have not observed any immediate indications of earthquake damage to the MTA network.” It sounds as though everything will be A-OK for the evening rush. I’ll update this post if anything further develops.