What We Know About the Recent Subway Power Failures

file photo
file photo

AUGUST 6 — Multiple power outages crippled the transit system last week, most significantly at West 4th Street, where service on the B, C, D, F, and M trains was interrupted during morning and evening rush hours, giving thousands of straphangers a taste of 2017’s “Summer of Hell”.
 
The first outage occurred on Tuesday, July 29th at 8:32 AM, when “signal trouble at West 4th Street” caused delays in the A, B, C, D, E, F, and M trains according to internal logs.
 
Later that day, at 5:27, the MTA reported on their NYCT Subway X account that B service was suspended, with the reason given as “a loss of power to our signaling system.”
 
 

Two days later, trouble at West 4th Street again plunged commutes into chaos at 8:55 AM, with the NYCT Subway account tweeting that “B/D/F/M trains are disrupted in both directions while we investigate a loss of power near W 4 St-Wash Sq.” Service on the C line was suspended less than an hour later, at 9:50: “You may see some ‌‌C‌ trains running, but no additional trains will depart from their terminals.” 
 
Hochul’s August 1 call for an investigation into the power failures last week is causing MTA managers to run for cover in an attempt to escape blame for the commuter chaos.
 
Local 100 can confirm that the initial power outages were due to a failure by Con Edison to restore current after it had been turned off during routine maintenance. Con Ed supplies AC  power to the transit system which needs to be “rectified” by transformers to DC voltage.
 
Local 100 Power Vice Chair Sacha Sapp said that further delays – which are continuing into this week – are caused by malfunctioning frequency converters, which transform a 60 Hertz current to 25 Hertz to power the signaling system. This results in slower service because Tower Operators in turn monitor train movements more carefully before allowing them to proceed. Transit managers are working to determine what caused the problems with the frequency converters.
 
Local 100 has long stressed the critical importance of maintaining a state of good repair. The MTA’s five-year capital plan was fully funded in the most recent state budget to the tune of $68.4 billion—the largest amount ever allocated to a capital plan put forth by the agency.
 
Now it’s time for management to roll up their sleeves and get to work.