NYC Subway Delays: Rush-Hour Repairs Rankle Riders On 3 Lines

BROOKLYN, NY — Repairs slowed R, N and D trains in Brooklyn during Monday morning's rush hour, stoking ire from commuters who questioned the timing of the work. The MTA blamed the snafu on communication failures and pledged that such woes wouldn't happen again.

Some straphangers complained on Twitter of waiting as much as 15 minutes between stops on trips that took far longer than normal — even though the MTA's website inexplicably showed "good service" on impacted lines for part of Monday morning.

"I’m worried we’re going to run out of supplies on this R train and we’ll have to resort to eating the dead like the Donner Party or that rugby team in the Andes," Dolores McMullan tweeted.

The chaos struck commutes on the first day of a "long-term structural rehabilitation project" in Sunset Park that will replace steel columns and lighting, repair steel beams and concrete, and make other upgrades, said Sarah Meyer, the MTA's chief customer officer.

An error prevented D trains from shifting onto the express track at 36th Street, creating congestion at the north end of the project area that delayed northbound trains, Meyer said in a statement.

"We had issues and challenges coordinating internally and the planned change was not properly communicated to our customers," Meyer said.

The lack of communication about the mess enraged commuters, leading some to question the wisdom of doing such disruptive work during a weekday rush hour.

Among those concerned was Bay Ridge City Councilman Justin Brannan, who tweeted around 8:50 a.m. that he "could've been in Baton Rouge by now."

"I'd say 95% of commuter frustration during times like these is because we just don't know what's going on," Brannan tweeted. "So just... tell us! It's cool. We'll forgive you. We have no choice."

N trains will run local between 36th and 59th streets in Brooklyn going forward, Meyer said. The planned work should only add five minutes to straphangers' trips at most during weekday rush hours, she said — meaning Monday's interminable delays hopefully won't be a daily occurrence.

"We deeply apologize for our significant errors today and know that we need to do better," Meyer said. "We are working through our policies and procedures to ensure this does not happen again."

(Lead image: Photo from Shutterstock)