Subway power outage disrupts several lines in Manhattan for 2nd time in a week
For the second time this week, the heat contributed to a power outage in the New York City subway system.
The latest one happened Thursday at the same time and at the same place as one on Tuesday.
The B and C lines remain suspended for the Thursday evening commute and several others are delayed, leaving commuters trying to figure out how to get home.
"It's our goal to provide good service and this was not it"
Officials say a blown transformer at the West Fourth Street station led to the power outage at 8:32 a.m., causing suspended and delayed service.
If that sounds familiar, it's because the same outage happened on Tuesday, with the same result.
"It's our goal to provide good service and this was not it," NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said, not long after joining crews on the tracks.
Power and signal problems may have only led to suspensions on the B and C trains, but they caused delays and partial suspensions along both of their train lines. On the Blue Line, severe delays remain on the A and E. On the Orange Line, the M train is partially suspended, while D and F trains are running with severe delays.
As of Thursday afternoon's briefing, Crichlow said a new transformer had been installed but had not yet been turned on. The primary focus is preventing another outage, rather than issuing just a temporary fix, as Tuesday's turned out to be.
In a statement following the briefing, Gov, Kathy Hochul said, in part, "I've directed the MTA to undergo a full review of this week's issues to prevent similar outages in the future."
Crichlow made it clear that heat and aging infrastructure are the root causes of the power problems.
Commuters left exasperated
Those hoping to ride the impacted rail lines on Thursday didn't mince words when asked how their day was going.
"I just came out of work and I'm just trying to get home and I had the same problem this morning with the signal problems. I'm just not understanding what's going on with these trains," one woman said.
"Between the platform and sitting on the train, it has been at least a half hour," a man said.
"I tried three trains -- E, N, and now I'm waiting here," one commuter said.
"There's nothing running on the local trains. It's a mess. The MTA. Every day," another man said.
Check back soon for the latest updates on this developing story. CLICK HERE for the latest service changes.