October 30, 2012

North, MTA closed; service to be phased in


The entire Metro-North and MTA train system remained at a standstill Tuesday in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, and it could be days before service is completely restored. Some buses, however, will be rolling Wednesday.
Signal systems at several Metro-North stations along the Hudson Line were destroyed by flooding and will have to be replaced, Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said. As a result, power was shut at the Tarry-town, Irving-ton and Spuyten Duyvil stations.
Winchester County's Bee-Line buses are set to roll Wednesday morning at 5:30 a.m., but riders should be prepared for a longer ride because roads are strewn with storm debris, Winchester County Executive Rob Astorino said.
"We know so many of our residents depend on our buses to get to work and other places, so it is imperative to restore service as quickly as we can," Astoria said. "I ask that our riders be patient with delays and detours."
Para-transit service for the disabled also will resume, he said.
Along the Harlem Line, workers were removing trees from overhead electrification lines and repairing washout-damaged ballast underneath the rail lines, Andres said. The trees did not do serious damage to the overhead wires.
On Tuesday, workers removed a 38-foot boat that had washed up onto the tracks north of the Ossining station. Along the New Haven Line, several trees had fallen on rail lines and had to be removed, Andres said.
The biggest trouble, however, was at the Stamford, Conn., station, where there was a power outage. "We have no juice out there," Anders said, noting that Connecticut Light and Power officials are working on the problem.
"We're going to assess things," Anders said. "We'll know more later."
MTA bus and subway service throughout New York City experienced the worst disaster in its 108-year history, but city buses were set to resume limited service at 5 p.m. Tuesday, with full service expected on Wednesday. Fares will be waived.
There is no firm timeline for when the subways will be up and running. Officials said subway service will be phased in, and full service likely will not resume for another 3-5 days.
As for air travel, Westchester County and Stewart International airports were open Tuesday, but carriers canceled all but a few flights. Some flights were slated to arrive at Westchester County Airport Tuesday night, and some outgoing flights will resume Tuesday night, spokeswoman Donna Greene said. A flight schedule showed three departing flights as of early Tuesday evening.
New York City's major airports -- LaGuardia, Newark Liberty and Kennedy International -- remain closed.
Air travelers should check with their carriers.


Utility crews are making progress in restoring power to Pennsylvania in the wake of the massive storm that brought punishing winds and rain across much of the state, but 1 million customers remain in the dark.
PECO Energy, the utility company reporting the most power outages in Pennsylvania, said 490,000 customers remained without service late Tuesday afternoon but power has already been restored to about 350,000 customers. It could take a week to restore everything.
PPL is reporting 341,000 without service. FirstEnergy is reporting 199,000 out.
Hardest hit are Bucks, Berks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery and Northampton counties, as well as Philadelphia.

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