About 200 passengers got stuck for over two hours without heat on a Metro-North train—and then said they were hit with a double whammy when their rescue train also had heat issues.
The New Haven-bound train left Grand Central shortly before 7:35 p.m. Wednesday, and lost power after century-old electrical wires snapped in the cold and fell on top of it about 8:50 p.m. Wednesday between the East Norwalk and Green’s Farms stations.
“We heard a boom, and saw a big flash of light outside the window,” said Eric Scholl, a 45-year-old Manhattan office worker heading to Fairfield.
At first, passengers were comfortable but it became colder as they wait. MTA police came on board, and checked on passengers during the wait.
The train used battery-operated lights since there was no power.
When a rescue train approached and tried to pull up next to the disabled train onto the tracks, it couldn’t because a switch had frozen.
Signal maintainers came shortly after at 10:15 p.m., and began quickly trying to repair the failure in freezing temperatures.
When passengers were able to finally board the rescue train using a ramp, two of the cars didn’t have heat—and riders didn’t realize it was warm in other parts of the train.
“It was pretty cold in there,” said John Balash, 35, of New Haven, who works at a New York City art gallery and wants a refund for the trip. “I had my coat on, put my hat and gloves on.”
Repairs on the wires finished about 1 p.m. Thursday.
Jim Cameron, a commuter advocate, said the railroad should have rescue trains with heat on standby to respond to emergencies. “Two hours is an unacceptable waiting time,” he said.
@MetroNorth Was stuck in car 9269 for 2 hrs w no heat, then put on barely moving "Rescue Train" w no heat-Would like to know my compensation
— Eric Scholl🎙 (@CalU90) January 23, 2014
