Storms made an abject mess of the evening commute Tuesday, as Metro-North suspended all its lines out of Grand Central Terminal, and subway delays and changes caused extreme crowding at some stations.
The Metro-North suspended the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines entirely “to ensure customer safety during the course of the thunderstorms in our service area” at the height of the evening rush, causing commuter crowds to swell inside Grand Central Terminal.
The MTA briefly closed the terminal to ensure crowd safety.
By 7 p.m., all three lines were running again, but with significant delays and some portions of the lines still suspended.
Metro-North said it expects to operate regular train service on Wednesday on the New Haven Line, regular service between Croton-Harmon and Grand Central on the Hudson Line and regular service between North White Plains and Grand Central on the Harlem Line.
The agency added that limited service was still anticipated between Poughkeepsie and Croton Harmon on the Hudson Line as well as between Southeast and North White Plains on the Harlem Line. Service remains suspended between Wassaic and Southeast.
New York City subways, meanwhile, saw dangerously crowded stations, passageways and walkways, according to people complaining on social media. The 42nd Street passageway between Times Square and Port Authority was especially packed, with people unable to even move on stairs at some points.
Worst ever seen in almost 10 years in the city, @NYCTSubwaypic.twitter.com/0H2aezpnM1
— Fabian Buchheim (@FabianBuchheim) May 15, 2018
The @NYCTSubway during storms is like the banks during the Great Depression. “Oh a bunch of people need to use this thing all at once? Too bad, it’s extremely broken.” pic.twitter.com/IxR8HPuHm7
— maddie bensinger (@maddie_ben) May 15, 2018
This nicely sums up part of what’s wrong with the @NYCTSubway : Rotten stations , overcrowding, no crowd control. Only a matter of time until someone dies, either on the tracks or in an overcrowded tunnel, trampled to death. cc @MTA@NYGovCuomopic.twitter.com/zxDPxOIkor
— Fabian Buchheim (@FabianBuchheim) May 15, 2018
@NYCTSubway Hey this is the situation under ground at Times Square. Please respond. What is up? @ny1@WNBC@WCBSTVpic.twitter.com/xYbrhqciSW
— Wendy Rich Stetson (@WendyStetson) May 15, 2018
@NYCTSubway Just thought you guys should know how dangerously packed the downtown E/M platform is at 5th Ave 53rd St Station. People are crammed in right up to the platform and edge 👍 pic.twitter.com/7s02G6k7CJ
— Megan Harrington (@meganharrington) May 15, 2018
Why must I be afraid that someone will be trampled or accidentally fall into the tracks? This is not acceptable @NYCTSubwaypic.twitter.com/68iLPEEmvy
— So Yeon Jeong (Soy) (@soyeonsoyjeong) May 15, 2018
A thunderstorm shouldn’t cause chaos on the subways like this! @NYCTSubway@NYGovCuomo@JoeLhota@melissadderosa@RichAzzopardi@EMPIREREPORTNYpic.twitter.com/eZA1twX1tS
— Michael F. Longo (@MikeLongoNYC) May 15, 2018
@NYCTSubway stop 7 train service, there is no space to move pic.twitter.com/GwkEWi9Pu6
— JJ (@Jawwadhaq) May 15, 2018
As of 6 p.m. an Uber ride from Grand Central Terminal to the Ardsley-on-Hudson Metro-North station — a ride that usually costs as little as $58 — was up to $237.
NJ Transit was also reporting 60-minute delays out of Hoboken due to weather.
Check real-time updates right here from the MTA, local airports, NJ Transit, PATH and other sources.
Source : Nbcnewyork