Subway delays caused by track trespassers spiked between October and November — spurring transit leaders to launch a task force aimed at keeping people from going off the rails.
Officials recorded 1,542 delays caused by “persons on roadbed” struck by trains in November — a surge of nearly 500 delays compared to October, acting MTA Chairman Janno Lieber told The Post on Friday.
“We’re fighting for the best service we can, and the one [cause of delays] that seems to be growing is person on roadbed, unruly passengers, misconduct of one kind or another,” Lieber said in an interview with The Post on Friday. “We are seeing more and more of these episodes of people with mental health issues getting on the roadbed, which is ridiculously dangerous.”
In a memo to MTA staff on Thursday, Lieber said the task force under new MTA construction czar Jamie Torres-Springer will “collect data on when and how these incidents occur and start identifying solutions.”
A person refused to get off the tracks at 125th and Lexington, which delayed 18 trains on Dec. 10. TikTokThe move to tackle trespassing comes as the MTA struggles to quell track intruders’ impact on service. The havoc continued on Friday morning when a person’s refusal to get off the tracks at 125th Street and Lexington Avenue delayed 18 trains for nearly a half hour, the MTA said.
The NYPD will also be included in the effort, Lieber told The Post. While he hopes the task force comes up with long-term solutions and strategies, Lieber has spoken to police about speeding up response times when individuals refuse to get off the tracks.
The NYPD and MTA will work together to crack down on train trespassers.
“The first way you attack the problem is to make sure that, God forbid, if it happens, you get them off the roadbed fast,” he said. “When a train is sitting and the station for a half hour because there is a lunatic on the tracks, that is inconsistent with the MTA’s purpose, which is to … provide transit.”
Lieber, who earlier this week expressed his eagerness to work with Mayor-elect Eric Adams on issues of crime, safety and mental illness, said “the criminal justice system” must also play a role in keeping subway tracks clear of intruders.
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber says he intends to work with Mayor-elect Eric Adams on issues of crime. TikTok“The system has to help them get help,” he said. “Them getting help, and getting them out of the system, is the only way that our riders are going to feel safe, and they’re going to stop being delayed.”
He said he hopes the new task force will provide some initial recommendations within two months.
