Metro North‘s service out of Manhattan may be severely disrupted this evening, as a fire on the 138th Street Lift Bridge may shut the entire line to Grand Central Station down. It is too early to report what the extent of the damage will be, but worst-case scenario, the service will be shut down on the entire line for an indefinite period.
Some Metro-North trains could reroute to Penn Station, if need be. The Hudson Line could use Amtrak‘s Empire connection to get into New York City. The New Haven line could use Amtrak’s Hells Gate line to get into Penn Station. We gather the only barrier to this in regular service, aside from crowding, are some minor infrastructure issues, and in an emergency, might be doable.
That may be a bit of a worst-case scenario. However, we will monitor the situation for future developments.
Update (9/20 3PM EDT) – ABC News reports that the fire burned through the wooden piers in the river meant to keep boats from hitting the bridge. Smoke billowed over East Harlem for nearly two hours. Off-peak train service resumed on two of four tracks after 2:30PM. MTA officials are assessing any damage before full service is restored. The cause of the fire appears to be a transformer.
Looks like no diversions to Penn this time.
