MTA and New Jersey Transit Flooding Update: When Will Subway, Train System Reopen After Historic Storm

Impact

New York City is facing historic and extensive damage to it's vital public transist system, including massive flooding throughout the subway system. Here are updates on the MTA.

Update: Thursday, 3:30 pm: 

Details Released on Restoring Mass Transit Service

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Wednesday afternoon released an update of mass transit conditions, including details of the subway service restorations to begin on Thursday. Officials have said that for the gaps in service along typical subway routes, buses will often be added to make the necessary connections. Here is the statement from the governor’s office:

N.Y.C.T. SUBWAY SERVICE:

2 trains will operate between 241st Street (Bronx) and Times Square-42nd Street, with express service between 96th Street and Times Square.

3 trains are suspended.

4 trains will operate in two sections making all local stops:

6 trains will operate local between Pelham Bay Park and Grand Central-42nd Street.

7 trains are suspended.

42nd Street Shuttle S trains will operate between Times Square and Grand Central.

A trains will operate in two sections making all local stops:

B and C service is suspended.

D trains operate in two sections:

E trains are suspended.

F trains operate in two sections making all local stops:

G trains are suspended.

J trains operate between Jamaica Center and Hewes Street making all local stops.

L trains operate between Broadway Junction and rockaway Parkway making all local stops.

M trains operate between Myrtle Avenue-Broadway and Metropolitan Avenue.

N trains operate between Ditmars Blvd. (Queens) and 34th Street-Herald Square making all local stops.

Q trains are suspended.

R trains operate in Brooklyn between Jay Street-MetroTech and 95th Street making all local stops.

Both the Franklin Avenue and Rockaway Park S shuttles are suspended.

SHUTTLE BUSES:

LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD:

Ronkonkoma Branch: Suspended (goal to restore hourly service from Ronkonkoma to Penn Station for AM rush hour Thursday, Nov. 1)

Port Washington Branch: Suspended (goal to restore hourly service from Great Neck to Penn Station for AM rush hour Thursday, Nov. 1)

Babylon Branch: Suspended

Port Jefferson Branch: Suspended

Montauk Branch: Suspended

Hempstead Branch: Suspended

Long Beach: Suspended

Far Rockaway: Suspended

Oyster Bay Branch: Suspended

West Hempstead: Suspended

METRO-NORTH:

Upper Harlem Line: Suspended

Lower Harlem Line: Restored with hourly service

New Haven Line: Suspended

New Canaan Branch: Suspended

Danbury Branch: Suspended

Waterbury Branch: Suspended

West-of-Hudson:

Bridges and Tunnels

Henry Hudson Bridge: Open

Throgs Neck Bridge: Open

Bronx-Whitestone Bridge: Open

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge: Open

Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge: Open

Cross Bay Veterans Memorial: Open northbound to Broad Chanel; Open southbound to Rockaways but subject to period closures for emergency equipment

Hugh L. Carey Tunnel: Closed

Queens Midtown Tunnel: Closed

Update: NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said that subways could be closed over the next 3 or 4 days. 

Metro Transit Authority Chairman Chris Lhota released a statement on the system's site early Tuesday morning. In addition to confirming that "seven subway tunnels under the East River [were] flooded," Lhota described the damages incurred by post-tropical storm Sandy as the worst in MTA history:

"The New York City subway system is 108 years old, but it has never faced a disaster asdevastating 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."  

Lhota continued to confirm power loses on Metro-North Railroad, evacuation of West Side Yards on the LIRR, flooding of the Hugh L. Carey and Queens Midtown Tunnel, and high water cutting off access to six bus garages. 

MTA Subway service will continue to be suspended throughout the day (as will New Jersey Transit)  according to their latest tweets. Lhota would not comment on a timeline for reopening, and the MTA is denying rumors that bus service will resume Tuesday at noon. 

Power outages build on the transit problems.

Nearly 1 million New Yorkers are without power after Hurricane Sandy made landfall Monday night. Blackouts in Manhattan stretch from 14th Street and down, and are the most extensive in the Financial District and Lower East Side.

The Upper West Side and Upper East  Side look like they have power and internet.

On a conference call at 11:40 pm, a ConEd spokesman said that "this will be the largest storm related outage in our history."

Electricity, of course, is vital to run the underground subway system in New York City. Thus, New York City's problems are compunding.