MTA faces fallout after flash floods, power failures plague New York City's aging subway system
MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- A rash of flash flooding from dangerous storms, and repeated power failures have plagued the New York City subways in recent days, renewing calls for the MTA to ensure that resiliency is a priority throughout the aging transit system.
Trains were rolling Friday morning, less than 12 hours after the deluge, but the memories won't fade anytime soon.
Thursday night's storm triggered flash floods that crippled stretches of the Long Island Rail Road.
In Bayside, Queens, riders had to be evacuated when their rush hour train became stranded.
In Brooklyn, subway stations were turned into indoor pools.
Deep inside Grand Central Terminal, rainwater poured onto the platforms bringing some Metro-North trains to a stop.
"New York State is home to more extreme weather events, diverse extreme weather events, than any state in the nation. So, we've had to deal with a lot," Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
The governor admits that riders have a right to be frustrated.
On Wednesday, a power failure at the West 4th Street Station in Manhattan disrupted service on five subway lines. Signals were knocked out and trains came to a halt.
It happened again on Thursday, with untold numbers of commuters delayed once again underground.
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber says the system is struggling to make up for years of neglect and disinvestment.
"You're talking about a 100-year-old electrical infrastructure, cloth-covered, you know, wires that are from our great grandparents' era and nobody went to update, and we just can't live with that anymore," Lieber said.
But that does not explain the system's newfound vulnerability to flash floods.
While climate change is the cause, rider watchdogs say the MTA needs to ensure that resiliency is a priority.
"There were a lot of things that took a lot of people aback this week, not just the riders, people who run the system," said Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee. "And one of the things that it really highlights is the importance of making sure it doesn't happen again."
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