NYC subway service melts down as riders return following blizzard

New Yorkers were met with sardine-packed subways, hours of delays and even a smoke-filled train on Tuesday as schools and offices reopened following a snowstorm that buried the city in snow from Sunday into Monday.

Eric Fries said he and his wife were on their way to JFK Airport for a trip to run in the Tokyo Marathon when it felt like their G train suddenly hit something on the tracks.

“It was really loud, sparks flying, it was unnerving for sure,” Fries told Gothamist. “It seemed fine in the moment, but then smoke started to fill the whole car when we were not moving.”

“What’s bad in retrospect is they don’t make any announcements,” he said. “There’s zero communication.”

The train eventually reached the 21st Street station in Long Island City and passengers quickly fled, Fries said. He said the smoke filled the entire train, which was one of the MTA’s new “open-gangway” trains that lack doors between cars.

The transit agency said service on the G train between the Bedford-Nostrand Avenues and Court Square stops was suspended into Tuesday afternoon because of a “mechanical problem.”

The MTA also reported delays on several other lines — and announced C train service was suspended altogether. Transit officials told riders to instead take the A train, which was running on the local C tracks.

Commuters at the Nostrand Avenue station on the A line in Bedford-Stuyvesant faced more than 20-minute delays during the morning rush. The poor service left the station overcrowded, with dozens of riders waiting in lines that formed up sets of stairs from the lower platform where A train had been redirected.

MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan didn’t offer an explanation for the decision to suspend C train service. He referred to a previous statement by the transit agency, which said some express service will continue to run on local tracks for the morning rush.

Crowds of idling riders at Nostrand Avenue were glued to their phones, angry and tired of waiting. Some said they had been waiting at the station for nearly two hours, while others simply gave up.

“That platform is full, so I’m going to go home,” said Alexa Meliton, who was originally planning to go to class at her art school in Dumbo. “I pay a lot of money to go to school, so thanks a lot MTA.”

Alexandra Haris, a public defender who works at Brooklyn Criminal Court, was sitting on the floor of the platform with her computer open, looking for colleagues to help cover for her.

She said the train delays would directly affect her clients’ cases.

“I’ve been here for about 30 minutes, but there’s people who said they’ve been here for over an hour,” Haris said. “We can’t even fit onto the platform, so I don’t imagine I will be out of here for at least another hour.”

Ann Barrett, who works as a train operator for the MTA, was also stuck at Nostrand Avenue. She said not enough subway crews showed up for work to properly staff the trains.

“They said there’s no personnel. They’re trying to run full service with 50% personnel, [because] people can’t get to work,” Barrett said. When nearby commuters listened in, they jokingly blamed her for the delays.

The MTA declined to comment on its staffing levels.

The transit agency kept all of its subway lines running during Monday’s storm, even at above-ground stations the MTA would close down during previous blizzards. But the storm still caused severe delays systemwide.

“Under other circumstances, you could ride a bike or get there some other way,” Bedford-Stuyvesant commuter Adam Rule lamented. “But I really don’t even think it’s worth trying.”