New York City subway stations flood as storm drenches Tri-State Area
Flooding caused delays on multiple New York City subway lines Monday as torrential rain pummeled the Tri-State Area, where many were under flash flood warnings. The storms were blamed for two deaths in New Jersey.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber says riders can expect normal service for the morning commute Tuesday.
"We have all of the subway lines operating, Metro-North, Long Island Rail Road," he told CBS News New York. "People worked overnight, worked their tails off, to make sure that we could accommodate our customers this morning."
But it was a different story Monday night. Service on the 1, 2, 3, E, F, M and R lines was impacted at the height of the storm, according to .
Service was suspended on the 1 line in most of Manhattan because of flooding near 96th Steet. Service on the 2 and 3 lines was also halted in Manhattan because of flooding at multiple stations, the MTA said. Trains resumed with severe delays after leaving riders stranded.
Video from the 28th Street station in Chelsea showed water gushing from a drain and completely flooding the platform as the subway's drainage system was overwhelmed.
"The New York City sewer system, the storm water system, accommodates about an inch and a half to an inch and three quarters an hour. Last night, in that one hour, we had well over 2 inches of rain. So what happens is the system backs up into the subway," Lieber explained, adding the agency pumped roughly 16 million gallons of water from the system.
Over at 34th Street-Penn Station, one of the city's busiest subway stations, water pooled on platforms as riders carefully maneuvered their way around.
"When it rains here in New York, it sucks. I don't know what is going on, the drainage, I mean, look at this. God forbid if someone slips and falls in this," one frustrated rider said.
"It's super frustrating. People just want to go home," another rider who had enough said. "These are not the conditions that New Yorkers deserve to be traveling in."
Trains on the E, F, M and R lines were delayed in both directions because of a signal problem caused by flooding at Queens Plaza.
Metro-North Railroad service was also delayed into and out of Grand Central Terminal because of the region's severe flooding. The Harlem, New Haven and Hudson lines were all impacted.
Rail service resumed with some delays at around 10 p.m. Commuters were being urged to delay travel until train service was restored between Manhattan and the Bronx.
More photos of Monday's flooding show the storm's impact in Westchester County and New Jersey.
