Passenger Trains > New York City power outage stops subway trains...among a lot else

Authorities were scrambling to restore electricity in Manhattan on Saturday following a massive power outage that left many businesses and thousands without electricity.  Officials said that a transformer fire triggered the power outage, which affected at least 38,000 customers.   Power went out at much of Rockefeller Center and reached the Upper West Side, according to the Associated Press.  The power outage comes 42 years to the day after The Great Blackout of 1977, which left most of New York City without electricity.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority tweeted that there are “extensive delays on many subway lines.   ”Subway riders told ABC7NY that the “trains just stopped” and while “some people felt like they were losing oxygen,” other people were “helping each other.”   Several subway stations are without power and were being bypassed by working trains, the transit authority tweeted.   The Metropolitan Transportation Authority tweeted that there were outages at various underground stations. 

When will power be restored?  Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed on Twitter late Saturday that power had been restored but warned New Yorkers to "exercise caution as everything returns to normal."

-USA Today



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/19 00:45 by GenePoon.

Unlike the '77 outage, this was relativley short in duration and limited in area.  Also, the rampant crime spree that marred the '77 outage didn't happen.  Instead regular people stood in intersections directing traffic, no easy feat in NYC. Broadway actors did improvised performances on the street, Carnegie Hall singers also did an improvised performance out front and most everyone else just went with the flow.  While it did cause problems, especially elevators and some subway disruptions, they were more inconveniences than anything serious.

Pictures on TV showed the subway stations dark, but lights on in the stopped trains.

One local said the subway power remained on, but trains were brought into stations and tied down. For safety reasons.

Posted from Android

Someone from New York can confirm this, but as I recall the subway system used to have its own generating stations (this may have been 100 years ago).

DNRY122 Wrote:
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> Someone from New York can confirm this, but as I
> recall the subway system used to have its own
> generating stations (this may have been 100 years
> ago).

See https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Main_Page

NYC Subways were built with their own 25 Hz power plants, and rotary converters distributed for DC traction power.
Station lighting was also mostly 25 Hz, from the Transit power plants, which caused visible flickering.

With solid state rectifiers now available, most or all of the power is fed from commercial 60 Hz supplies, such as Con Ed.

Bill