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Rush Hour L Train Stalls Under East River

2007_12_ltraind.jpgRiders were stranded on the platform and in subway cars when a Brooklyn-bound L train stalled under the East River just after 8PM. Reader tokyohanna, who took this photograph of people waiting, wrote at the time, "There is a train stalled between first and Bedford. They stopped trains in both directions. A sea of people is on the platform and we can barely walk."

amNew York reports that the train had a mechanical failure close to First Avenue, requiring a rescue train to be dispatched to pick up passengers. Some passengers from the stranded train said "that four men exited the stalled train, intending to walk through the tunnel to the next station. They said two men soon returned to the train, saying it was too far to walk. The other two men apparently kept going." We bet the guys who returned ran into some rats in the subway.

The delay took about two hours to resolve. This comes just in time for the NYC Transit Authority's reorganization of subway train management, where subway lines will get their own managers. Starting Monday, the 7 and L lines will start the program; the 7 train will be managed by 26-year NYCTA veteran Lou Brassica and the L will be headed by 28-year vet Greg Lombardi.

Photograph by tokyohanna on Flickr

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Comments [rss]

  • JpMaxMan

    How horrible! I can't even imagine, I think I would have been one of the people that walked. Did they ask the conductor or just haul ass through the tunnel hoping the train didn't start up again!? What about people who had to use the bathroom? What a nightmare, sympathies to everyone who was stuck on that train.

  • jibbly

    cool - ...but my bank account would have all sorts of different problems.

  • cool

    just live in manhattan, and you wouldn't have these problems.

  • zbruno

    see – these train cars are brand new - over $1 mill/car and this shit still happens. With all the complaints from people here it's no wonder (and the MTA should fucking realize) that everyone gets pissed when they strike and say they deserve more money. THEY DON'T! They never make any goddamn improvements to anything. assholes.

  • jibbly

    Yeah I got lucky and squeezed into an N train. It actually ended up being faster than the D through most of brooklyn.

  • latb

    That stinks, however, trains stop all the time, is Gothamist going to start reporting every train problem?



    Actually, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a subway blotter once a day...

  • Jeff Baum

    Yeah, that 34th street scene was very scary. I usually take the NRQW, but ran over to the F instead to avoid all that. Wasn't too bad over there.

  • mx

    Another mention of the L train, another robotic dork posts about "hipsters" as if it is original or funny.



    Guess what? It wasn't funny or original the last 999,999,999 times. As everyone notes after these automatic dimwit comments, thousands of non-hipsters ride the L train. Some of them even live in Williamsburg.

  • smitty

    "If you really wanted to see bedlam last night the NQRW downtown platform at 34th was dangerously overpacked."



    Totally what I was referring to. The B/D downtown were shut down so everyone had to take the NQRW. People started fighting on the stairs because they were so frustrated that the crowd wasn't moving.

  • jibbly

    If you really wanted to see bedlam last night the NQRW downtown platform at 34th was dangerously overpacked.

  • JRod5417

    It seems there are more incidents like this on the subway during the holidays. I wonder why that is?

  • kaet

    sorry for the trio of posts...

  • citygirlscientist

    Man I really feel bad for those people stuck on the platforms...? Two hours under the East River with no announcements on a "new" train that only inched backwards from time to time was a nightmare. At least I was one of the first people to transfer to the rescue train... I got to sit down for the last 45 min.

  • slyseekr

    It looks like I made the right choice by taking the N back up to the 7.



    That was a pleasant walk across the Pulaski Bridge.

  • kaet

    I was surprised how non-angry people were. It was more like, "man, I just wanted to have a relaxing evening, this sucks."



    I think after 30 minutes people who were standing started sitting because for 6:30-7:00 it was surprisingly (fortunately) not that packed.



    If anyone was really anything it was frustrated because the conductor kept coming through and making announcements to 1/4 of the car and not telling the rest what we needed to do.

  • kaet

    I was surprised how non-angry people were. It was more like, "man, I just wanted to have a relaxing evening, this sucks."



    I think after 30 minutes people who were standing started sitting because for 6:30-7:00 it was surprisingly (fortunately) not that packed.



    If anyone was really anything it was frustrated because the conductor kept coming through and making announcements to 1/4 of the car and not telling the rest what we needed to do.

  • kaet

    I was surprised how non-angry people were. It was more like, "man, I just wanted to have a relaxing evening, this sucks."



    I think after 30 minutes people who were standing started sitting because for 6:30-7:00 it was surprisingly (fortunately) not that packed.



    If anyone was really anything it was frustrated because the conductor kept coming through and making announcements to 1/4 of the car and not telling the rest what we needed to do.

  • picturesinink

    It was a very pleasant 2 hours underground. and if there WERE more hipsters on the train, then maybe i'd have a date tonight.

  • obviousK

    Oh I know you weren't complaining! I was actually imagining the madness that was probably taking place on all of the platforms, but still wishing I had taken the J train like I usually do...

  • tokyohanna

    obviousK that's horrible, I almost got on that train too. For the record, I wasn't complaining, just recording what the photo was of.

  • lauraishorrible

    JMH: Right, because the only people on the L train are hipsters. You know, all those hipsters who live out in Canarsie, or in East New York. My roommate took this picture, and she has a pretty great job. You're a jerk.

  • kaet

    Fact, it was more like 6:40 when the train stopped and it was on the way up the hill to Bedford ave.



    The rescue train came about 7:50 and we didn't get back to First Ave until 8:10.



    I know this because my show started at 7 and I could have been ten minutes early for it.

  • JMH

    I'd have an easier time laughing at this if hipsters had jobs.

  • obviousK

    "There is a train stalled between first and Bedford. They stopped trains in both directions. A sea of people is on the platform and we can barely walk."



    screw the people on the platform, I was stuck on the broken down train for 2 hours...we would have gladly traded places.

  • smitty

    There were also major problems on the D and B trains last night around the same time. They completely cut off service to Brooklyn and my D train from Rock ended at 34th St. Everyone then had to go to the N or Q trains but it was impossible to even get on the platform it was so crowded.

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