Flooded NYC Subways: Service Could Be Out For Four To Five Days
New York City's complex subway system has been brought to its knees by flooding resulting from the powerful Hurricane Sandy.
All seven subway tunnels connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn were flooded during the storm, and Metropolitan Transit Authority officials are worried that salty sea water could corrode electrical signaling equipment in the subway system.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the MTA would resume bus service as of Tuesday on a limited scale and without charging any fares. The goal is to completely restore bus service as of Wednesday, the governor said.
But the recovery timetable for New York's subway system could be much longer. Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday that subway service could be out for as many as four to five days.
MTA Chairman Joseph J. Lhota released a statement on the MTA website to update customers on the severity of the storm's effects and to assure them that officials are working hard to restore service as quickly as possible.
Lhota's complete statement is below:
"The New York City subway system is 108 years old, but it has never faced a disaster as devastating as what we experienced last night. Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on our entire transportation system, in every borough and county of the region. It has brought down trees, ripped out power and inundated tunnels, rail yards and bus depots.
"As of last night, seven subway tunnels under the East River flooded. Metro-North Railroad lost power from 59th Street to Croton-Harmon on the Hudson Line and to New Haven on the New Haven Line. The Long Island Rail Road evacuated its West Side Yards and suffered flooding in one East River tunnel. The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel is flooded from end to end and the Queens Midtown Tunnel also took on water and was closed. Six bus garages were disabled by high water. We are assessing the extent of the damage and beginning the process of recovery. Our employees have shown remarkable dedication over the past few days, and I thank them on behalf of every New Yorker. In 108 years, our employees have never faced a challenge like the one that confronts us now. All of us at the MTA are committed to restoring the system as quickly as we can to help bring New York back to normal."
