'Summer Of Hell': A Hudson Valley Guide To NYC's Transit Woes

Penn Station's "Summer of Hell" doesn't begin till Monday, yet commuting in and out of New York City has been a disaster for months. There have been so many dangerous, torturous and crazy situations that it’s getting hard to keep track of what happened when, where and why.

Which train derailment do you mean? Which stampede of terrified subway passengers are you referring to? Who brought a wild animal on the subway now?

We can’t fix Penn Station, or update the subway’s signal systems. But we can give voice to your frustration, hold those in charge accountable, and find creative ways to make commuting more pleasant. Patch is partnering with WNYC and Gothamist to do just that. Join "We the Commuters," and you’ll receive tips, inspiration, and a megaphone for your voice this summer.

In the meantime, here is a collection of some of the shutdowns, breakdowns and meltdowns from 2017 so far.

ACCIDENTS

Amtrak Acela Derails, Sideswipes NJ Transit Train in Penn Station

What Happened: Several cars on the Acela train derailed at low speed, struck an NJ Transit train on the Montclair-Boonton line, and left several passengers with minor injuries.

• Trains Affected: Amtrak's Acela Express and Northeast Regional service as well as the NJ Transit service.
• Stop: Penn Station
• When: Morning rush hour, March 24
• Excuse: Faulty tracks caused the Acela derailment, and the following NJ Transit derailment, Amtrak admitted.

Read the full story here.

NJ Transit Train Derails in Penn Station, Injures Five

What Happened: A train from Trenton carrying 1,200 people experienced a "slow-speed derailment" in Penn Station. Five people received non-life-threatening injuries.

• Trains Affected: All New Jersey Transit service and some LIRR lines
• Stop: Penn Station
• When: Morning rush hour, April 3
• Excuse: Amtrak accepted the blame.
• Response: New Jersey's Governor Chris Christie called for New Jersey Transit to halt all payments to Amtrak for use of the lines, which Amtrak owns. Amtrak announces a summer program of extensive overhauls – which promises to be a "Summer of Hell" for thousands of commuters.

Read the full story here.

Power Outage At Dekalb Avenue Causes Massive Delays

What Happened: A power outage at DeKalb Avenue coincided with mechanical issues at other stations and left Brooklyn commuters stranded on platforms so packed, they were reportedly "dangerous.”

• Trains Affected: B, D, F, N, Q, R and W trains
• Stop: Dekalb Avenue Station
• When: Morning rush hour, May 9
• Excuse: The MTA blamed a Con Ed power outage.
• Response: Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams called for the state to conduct an independent review of the MTA.

Read the full story here.

Hunter Student Misses Commencement Because He’s Stuck On An E Train

What Happened: Hunter student Jerich Alcantara missed commencement when his E train stalled underground for 90 minutes. The nursing student’s fellow passengers held an impromptu ceremony and video of the event went viral.

• Subway Line: E line in Queens
• When: Morning rush hour, May 30
• Excuse: The E train stalled when a mechanical malfunction triggered the emergency brakes.
• Response: The MTA transferred passengers to a "rescue train," which Alcantara told Buzzfeed was delayed because of signal problems.

Read the full story here.

F Train Breaks Down, Becomes Sauna Subway

What Happened: Passengers were trapped in a steamy, hot and crowded subway car for more than an hour. The sweaty straphangers were caught on video prying at the train doors, trying to escape.

• Trains Affected: F trains
• Stop: Broadway-Lafayette Station
• When: Evening rush hour, June 5
• Excuse: The MTA said in a statement that the southbound F train became "unable to take power.”
• Response: The MTA boasted that "the rail control center and service supervisor responded promptly to this problem."

Read the full story here.

Bag of Trash Causes Massive Delays on Metro-North

What Happened: Commuters were trapped on trains for hours as Metro-North stopped due to police activity, which turned out to be because of a suspicious unattended package on the 138th Street bridge, which turned out to be a bag of trash.

• Trains Affected: All Metro-North trains in and out of Grand Central
• When: Morning rush hour June 14
• Excuse: police activity

Read the full story here.

NJ Transit Train Derails Near Penn Station Days Before Scheduled 'Summer Of Hell'

What Happened: A New Jersey Transit train derailed near Penn Station with nearly 200 people aboard, none of whom were reported injured.

• Trains Affected: All NJ Transit service was suspended to and from the station
• Stop: Penn Station
• When: After evening rush hour, July 7th

Read the full story here.

SCHEDULED SHUTDOWNS

What’s Shutting Down: LIRR, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit rush hour train service will be cut by 20 percent in Penn Station. The schedules on the Pascack Valley Line and Port Jervis Line are not changing, but Metro-North is advising customers who typically change trains at Secaucus that there could be changes to departure times for those connecting trains, as announced by NJ Transit.

• How Long: Service will be modified from July 10 through Sept. 1
• Why: Amtrak will make extensive repairs to tracks in and around Penn Station.
• Commuters Affected: 1o,000 daily
• Cost: Unknown, but Cuomo called on Amtrak to foot the bill.

Read the full story here and about a resultant fare break here.

Canarsie Tunnel Shutdown

What’s Shutting Down: L train service in and out of Manhattan

• Where: Stations between Bedford Avenue and Eighth Avenue
• How Long: Service will be suspended for fifteen months, beginning in April 2019
• Why: The MTA will repair damage to the Canarsie tunnel caused by Hurricane Sandy
• Cost: $477 million
• Commuters Affected: 225,000 daily

Read the full story here.

Myrtle Viaduct And Fresh Pond Bridge Shutdown

What’s Shutting Down: M train service in Brooklyn and Queens

• Where: Stations between the Myrtle Avenue-Broadway and Middle Village-Metropolitan Avenue
• How Long: Service will be suspended between Myrtle Avenue-Broadway and Middle Village-Metropolitan Avenue from July 1 to Sept. 1 and between Myrtle Avenue-Broadway and Myrtle-Wyckoff avenues from Sept. 1 to April 30, 2018.
• Why: The MTA will demolish and rebuild the 104-year-old Myrtle Viaduct in Bushwick and the Fresh Pond Bridge in Ridgewood.
• Commuters Affected: 60,000 daily

Read the full story here.

Elevated N Train Track Shutdown

What’s Shutting Down: N train service in Astoria

• Where: Stations between Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard and Queensboro PlazaHow Long: Service will be suspended eight summer weekends between May and September
• Why: The MTA will replace switches, track panels and girders along the elevated tracks.
• Cost: $12.4 million

Read the full story here.

Clark Street Station Closure

What’s Shutting Down: 2 and 3 train service in and to Brooklyn

• Where: Clark Street Station
• How Long: Every weekend between June 2017 through spring 2018
• Why: The MTA will repair damages to the Clark Street tunnel caused by Hurricane Sandy

Read the full story here

Prospect Avenue Station Closure

What’s Shutting Down: Prospect Avenue R Train stationWhere: Prospect and Fourth avenues

• How Long: From June 5 through “the next six months.”
• Why: The MTA will make cosmetic upgrades to the stop’s lighting, display screens and charging stations
• Cost: The upgrade is part of a $72 million project to renovate three R train stations in Brooklyn

Read the full story here.

Photos courtesy of Patrick Corbett, Chelsea Lawrence, @nrik_nyc/Twitter. Story by Kathleen Culliton (Patch Staff). Lanning Taliaferro contributed to this report.

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