Feb. 2, 2015 Staff Report
No. 7 train commuters riding between Flushing Main Street and 42nd St-Times Square have been left stranded for hours as ice on the third rail has resulted in no train service in either direction.
Many commuters in Sunnyside said around noon that they had been waiting for the train for over two hours–as power on the line had gone out. One woman at the 46th Street stop said she was stuck on the train near the 33rd Street station for over two hours when service stopped. She was crying because she was so shaken up by the experience.
Meanwhile lines for the bus on Queens Blvd snaked around the block.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer said that he had been hearing from constituents through Facebook and Twitter all morning about the problem. He said he visited the 52nd Street station in Woodside and discovered that there had been a track fire at the station caused by an umbrella falling on the track–making the situation worse.
He said that the MTA had not provided him with an update of when the power will come back. However, he said that he is pushing the agency to make sure the power is restored so workers are able to make it home from Manhattan during rush hour.
“We need to get these trains running again…because people will need to get home in a couple of hours,” Van Bramer said.
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22 Comments
Just to be really clear, there was NO track fire at 52nd Street. I was there when the umbrella was taken off the track. It was simply wedged under the third rail. Not on fire. Not smoldering. The conductors who took care of it could not have been nicer or kinder.
I am so glad I work from home now. 20 years of commuting on the 7 train, ugh.
Why is there expresses service only on the weekend when they don’t event so trackwork? There aren’t any crews or trains in the local tracks.
People fighting to get into 60 and 32 buses way to go mta! And all these skip stops on the weekend are a business killer
I thought my commute this morning was bad! We got stuck at Vernon Jackson for over 30 minutes. The station announcer told us to exit the train, go across the street to the other side, and take a train back to Queensboro to catch the N/Q. I walked in four inches of slush across the street, then there were no Queens-bound trains for fifteen minutes. Then the train I had been sitting on left! Argh! Why did they tell us to go to the Queens-bound side if there were no trains actually coming that way? So then I trudged back across the slushy streets to wait for another ten minutes for a 7 to finally come. I was almost late to teaching my classes, but made it in the nick of time. It was a very stressful day. This evening I ended up walking from Queensboro Plaza to Sunnyside because I didn’t want to deal with the busses. What a massive fail!
The incompetence of the MTA in handling this problem is astounding. Coming home at 3pm today I waited 10 minutes for the free shuttle heading to Flushing. No signs, no MTA workers, I just stood where I saw a bunch of disgruntled commuters. When the bus did come it stooped short of the head of the line which caused a massive rush on the door. Lots of pushing and more pushing. A fist fight broke out between a man and a woman as they climbed the stairs into the bus. She was yelling, cursing and being belligerent. He was pushy douchebag. He calmed down as she continued to yell at him in a very un-lady like manner. The MTA needs to improve.
“Shuttle Buses”
I was waiting with a group of people on 46th street for a manhattan bound shuttle bus for 20 minutes in ankle-deep slush around noon. Went up to the station to ask the lady in the kiosk and she was like…”They’re not coming?” I did see Queens-bound shuttle buses…but I had to take the Q60 to get the Queens Boro plaza from where I was, that is, after I finally found a bus that didn’t shut its doors in my face due to over-capacity. What a mess! I’m just glad I had an appointment otherwise I would have been trapped on the 7 too.
Snow shoes and cranes**
They need to look into if “now shoes” were being used for the connection to the 3rd rail before placing blame on the MTA. Ice happens, its an elevated train. But as long as they did what they could to prevent such issues I’m fine. But I also agree with how the train crew addresses the riders is terrible. I love when they say there is train traffic ahead but you can clearly see there isn’t a train any where near ours.
I think someone had also mentioned the train works in the summer for the mets and tennis… Don’t forget the disaster after the all star game home run derby in 2013 when they had a fire and people were taking buses from citi field.
Lastly, I understand work needs to be done, but it shouldn’t take so long to get things done. Put more workers on, more crains and get the job done in less time. No reason to stretch a job so long.
See this line right here: “…there had been a track fire at the station caused by an umbrella falling on the track–making the situation worse.” They are trying to cover their incompetency and accuse us, the commuters. An umbrella won’t cause entire 7 line shut down let alone a fire on a rainy, snowy day. MTA should pay the commuters their money back that they lost wasting time in their cars.
I was stuck in the rear car of that 7 train for over 2 hours…9:24 to 11:45ish….
The conductor really needs to work on his wording because he was NOT assuaging any fears at all.
“Train entirely lost power. We have no control over this train.”
and next one is paraphrased: “Workers are trying to come up with a way to save us” “We will attempt to move the train”
One of the workers came on, a nice black lady with braided hair.. She really knew what to say “We will be moving shortly, we apologize for the delay. The train will be moved to Queensboro plaza” <–Nice, direct, and simple….no doubt in her voice.
Anyway, that being said. No wonder the groundhog saw his shadow…..
P.S. My coworker was stuck on the same train as me…we are dreading the commute home in a few hours. It is SNOWING now and it will all be an icy mess by the time we leave….Please give us good news.
@@@@@@@asshole.
In the dead of winter no less! No wonder I am sick.
Warren Wilhelm Jinx Again.
The 7 train is worked on nearly every weekend in winter and almost every Monday there are problems regardless of weather . The 7 is one of the only elevated trains worked on in winter,the reason the mta inconviece hundreds of thousands of people and make us freeze while waiting or changing trains is because of the us tennis open in summer . The mta sacrifices most of queens so a few thousand rich white people can get to watch tennis in the summer. I hope the thought of this keeps you warm
@@@@@@@asshole.
Natural disasters happen, no one should be too up in arms over a snow storm turned ice storm shutting down the system, BUT…..with all the weekend shutdowns, going on since I got here in the 90’s, it’s not difficult to see why people would be pissed off. How about Van Bramer and co start to hold the MTA’s feet to the fire, instead of worrying about creating more loopholes for real state douchebags to build bigger buildings, inviting more people into our neighborhood, which leads to more overcrowding on a subway line that doesn’t operate on many weekends and is packed beyond capacity during rush hours. Politicians need to get their acts together and it starts @ the top with Emperor Cuomo and his band of corrupt mercenaries w/i the NYS govt and MTA. Enough is enough. People would have been understanding today, but the lack of services every weekend is pushing them over the top. It took a year and a half to build the empire state building…I spoke to a guy this morning that said “This BS weekend shutdown system has been going on since the 60’s”.
Much of the blame is due to the two track nature of the line from Manhattan to Queensboro Plaza. It does not allow for just one track to be out of service as can be done in three/four track lines. Which is why I do not like the fact that while it would make 2nd Ave line more expensive to build, it should have at least three tracks. People who ride the L train will be experiencing pain soon as their tunnels need to be fixed, because of its two track nature. The Metro in DC have experienced ridership drops for the same reason.
Anyway, everyone will certainly be impatient for April when the service should return to normal.
I was stuck on that train near Queensboro Plaza – I was lucky because it was just slightly less crowded in the back. There were a few moments when I was really afraid, because the train was stopping and starting over and over again, until it came to a dead halt. Then it was a matter of waiting and waiting without any useful information from the conductor. Thank goodness for Twitter – it was a very useful resource!
I get that things happen, and outdoor subways are affected by weather, etc., but the once mighty 7 train has become a disaster in the last 10 years… The only time it runs properly is during a mets game.
Forget the Sunnyside yards development controversy, or affordable housing or anything else.. if the 7 train continues to deteriorate while getting insanely crowded, this neighborhood is doomed. Everybody – rich, poor, hipster, immigrant, business owner, 5th generation resident, etc. Like it or not, if the 7 train sucks, then so do the neighborhoods that rely on it.
HELP US OUT JIMMY! PRESSURE THE MTA TO STOP EFFING US!!!
I couldn’t have said this better myself. Independent of all other issues – the 7 needs dire attention. Our communities along the entire 7 route cannot flourish without more efficient and frequent 7 train service. It seem that this is a NOW priority – and not an “in 5 or 10 years” priority.
it’s okay! with the upcoming fare hike, the 7 train will only be shut down for half of the time! /s