Advocates, Cuomo Respond to Latest Subway Meltdown
The 2 train is now a 5 train. The express train is now running local. A 1 train has stopped mid-route, and will be sent back the way it came.
These were the announcements New York City straphangers heard last Thursday after a track component came loose at 50th Street, causing three hours of delays on five subway lines. Service was suspended on the 1 line between 137th Street and South Ferry, and there were delays on the 2, 3, 4, and 5 trains as a result.
That same day, a switch problem at Queensboro Plaza caused delays on the N, Q, R, and W lines. Three days later, a power outage near the Jay Street-Metrotech station caused delays on the A, C, F, and G lines.
“Once again, equipment failures led to delays, frustration and confusion for New Yorkers trying to get to work,” said John Raskin, Executive Director of the Riders Alliance. Raskin said the incidents should remind public officials that “even though school may have started, the summer of hell isn’t over for subway commuters.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo spoke to reporters yesterday at his office in Midtown, and said that despite last week’s issues, improvements have been made. “I mean, I hear from people who say the tracks look cleaner or the service seems better. So, I’m hearing it already,” said Cuomo.
Governor Cuomo said it could take a year to see the full results of the Subway Action Plan, an $836 million-dollar project that aims to modernize infrastructure and improve communication with passengers. “There’s no doubt the MTA still has a long way to go. I believe their time frame on their emergency plan that they laid out was about a year for the implementation, give or take,” said Cuomo. “So, I would give them that period of time.”
Raskin said the Subway Action Plan is a good start, but that seeing it through is crucial. “If the Governor doesn’t follow through on his promises to modernize the transit system, the Summer of Hell could easily become a Decade of Despair for millions of New Yorkers,” Raskin said.
On Thursday evening, members of the Riders Alliance met at Solas Bar for a panel called “How To Fix A Problem Like The Subways.” The panel included MTA Board Member Veronica Vanterpool, who discussed the day’s mishap and proposed solutions to the ongoing crisis.
Vanterpool said she supported the Subway Action Plan, describing it as “intuitive and pragmatic.” Vanterpool said she is encouraged that the plan shifts the focus away from expansion projects, like the 2nd Avenue Subway line, and toward infrastructure. “We should not be foregoing maintenance and state of good repair for expansion projects,” said Vanterpool.
Vanterpool said that continued pressure from MTA customers is the key to fixing the system, and that the Subway Action Plan wouldn’t have been proposed without customers and activists speaking up. “No other city has this level of engagement and focus,” said Vanterpool. “Your power and voice is there, and it has had an impact.”
