Why does a track fire at the last stop of an NYC MTA subway line create delays much farther down the line?

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rhonmark | 3 years, 4 months ago

That's a good question. My guess is, the train closest to that last stop where the fire is have no other place to go or could not get into a switch track to go back. That's why all the other train behind it gets delayed. This may also be the reason why some trains get re-routed or change lines. For instance an F train may run as an E train somewhere along the route where they travel in parallel.

This is just my guess cause Ive been pondering about this too, especially when I get to work late because of this reason.

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voodojoe | 3 years, 4 months ago

Perhaps to fight the fire, they have to de-energize that section of track near 8th or 6th ave. the length of a section of track that gets de-energizes may span across a switch, or all of the Manhattan side track. Or it could be as you said, safeguards that would prevent trains from crossing the river due to incidents like fires, in Manhattan. Transit agencies always play it safe, better delayed/inconvenienced, then dead, especially since subway tunnels have very limited escape routes.

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nativenerd | 3 years, 4 months ago

I think it has a bit to do with those, but mostly just precaution. Honestly, would you want to be stuck in a mile long tube with no escape/ventalation knowing there is a fire spewing smoke into the tunnel? This is especially true on lnies that cross under the river since there is no such thing as an escape hatch there. What happens if the section of track the train is on suddenly de-energiezes? I'm pretty sure Voodojoe had it right with them erring on the side of caution.

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