An MTA worker was injured after striking the third rail in the 72nd Street subway station around 8 p.m. on Wednesday night, NYPD tells us. The worker was taken to New York hospital. The 1, 2, and 3 lines were shut down for about an hour, and five trains were apparently stuck in tunnels during that period.
We’ve gotten numerous tips about a massive emergency response to the scene. Earlier in the day, the 1, 2 and 3 were experiencing delays because of “signal problems.” The injured worker may have been attempting to address those problems. Update: ABC News now says that the worker suffered serious burns while working on the signal problem. His injuries weren’t considered life-threatening.
Because the MTA’s Fastrack repair program has shut down parts of the C line, the neighborhood was without much subway coverage this evening, as New York Times reporter Mike Grynbaum wrote on twitter:
MTA’s “Fastrack” = entire West Side of Manhattan without subways this evening. No real contingency if 1/2/3 has problems, like tonight.
— Mike Grynbaum (@grynbaum) July 12, 2012
Some passengers stuck in the tunnels were confused as to the reason:
Soooo I’ve been stuck in a tunnel on the train for an hour now…. #stuckonthe3train
— Carmen (@carmatplay) July 12, 2012
