New York Expects Lengthy Recovery of Transit System

New York Transit Still Paralyzed

New York City’s public transportation system remained paralyzed on Sunday afternoon even after Hurricane Irene moved away from the city, and the authorities expected a lengthy recovery that would most likely leave many commuters stranded on Monday morning.

Transit workers were still waiting for winds to die down before they could inspect the entire system. But an initial survey revealed flooded subway tracks, powerless commuter rail networks and fallen trees and branches that had rendered some rail routes impassable.

The New Haven line of the Metro-North Railroad had no power because of downed wires along its route. Parts of the Metro-North track along the surging Hudson River were flooded. Subway lines in parts of Brooklyn were also inundated. Bus service remained suspended.

The region’s major airports remained closed, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it had no timeline for when they would be reopened. Some airlines said that to make sure passengers did not end up stranded, they were waiting for the city’s buses and trains to start running again before resuming flights. A spokesman for JetBlue said the airline hoped to resume flights after 3 p.m. on Monday, depending on flooding conditions at Kennedy and La Guardia Airports.

Roadways, however, were faring better. After some initial flooding, the entire lengths of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive and the Henry Hudson Parkway were reopened, and all major bridges and tunnels were open to traffic, save for the Cross Bay bridge to the Rockaways, in Queens.

It remained unlikely that the subway and commuter rail system would be back to full speed for the Monday morning commute, officials said.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo expressed support for the transit shutdown, saying on Sunday that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority had made the right decision to preserve equipment and expedite the recovery process.

“The decision on the M.T.A. was the right one,” Mr. Cuomo said in an interview with NY1. “I think it was right. It allowed them to get a lot of the equipment off the tracks and in safe conditions, so when we go to start the system up again, it will be accelerated.”

The governor said it was too early to say exactly when mass transit service would be fully restored, noting that workers must still examine tunnels, bridges and rail routes for signs of wind and water damage. “Until we do a full damage assessment, it’s too early to really say,” Mr. Cuomo said.

Jeremy Soffin, a spokesman for the transportation authority, said the damage might have been far worse had the agency not shut down.

Many of the low-lying train yards and bus depots expected to be affected by the storm were now underwater, officials said, including subway yards in Coney Island and Upper Manhattan. Subways and buses were moved from those yards on Saturday and stored elsewhere so they would not be damaged by water.

The agency was waiting for high winds to die down before sending out workers for a full inspection of the system. The subway’s 13 underwater tunnels, where officials had expected some degree of flooding, have not been examined yet, officials said.

As of noon, New Jersey Transit officials said it was still unclear when the agency would resume its bus and commuter rail service.

On Metro-North, mudslides, fallen trees and downed wires were causing problems throughout the rail network in suburban New York and Connecticut. The Long Island Rail Road was seeing similar difficulties.

In New York City, many residents appeared to be moving about via taxicabs. Michael Woloz, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, said 30 taxi garages operated by his trade group remained open. The city has mandated a zoned fare system for cab rides, which also allows for passengers to share trips.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/nyregion/new-york-expects-lengthy-recovery-of-transit-system.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto