A Harlem track fire left nine people injured yesterday, marking only the latest in a series of transportation disasters plaguing New York City trains.
The mayhem began when trash suddenly went up in flames around St. Nicholas Avenue and 145th Street just before 8:00 a.m., WCBS reported. Straphangers were then evacuated as service was suspended and delayed on multiple lines, and several people suffered from smoke inhalation.
Furious riders took to Twitter, sharing photos and videos of their chaotic commute with captions stating, “thanks @MTA,” and “@MTA strikes again.”
@MTA strikes again pic.twitter.com/InrCqrR2xj
— marisa santana (@MarisaCarullo) July 17, 2017
My morning commute… thanks @MTA pic.twitter.com/HRP4sj9CWu
— Richard Pedraja (@calixto_87) July 17, 2017
As affected stations began filling up, 168th Street was inundated with waves of passengers who maxed out the standing room on the platforms and crammed onto the footbridges overhead, which are almost never used as a waiting area.
A statement from the MTA said that the agency has “focused on reducing track fires with an aggressive Track Sweep program that is being deployed across the entire system.” New York’s subway tracks are notoriously cluttered with garbage, making fires a common disruption for commuters.
Later that evening, Mayor de Blasio was seen crammed into a 7 train, Gothamist reported, but that’s not the only time he’s recently braved the madness. Last week, The New York Times’ Nick Corasanti tweeted out this photo of the mayor on the C train, who said he chose to ride the subway because it was the “easiest way to get where I’m going.”
