Transportation limped back to normal in New York on Monday morning after a hurricane drenched the city, with subway service resuming but major rail service still disrupted. Hurricane Irene, which was later downgraded to a tropical storm, largely spared New Yorkers as it tore through the US east coast this weekend but the metropolis ordered an unprecedented shutdown of the subway from Saturday.
The country’s largest subway system returned to service early Monday “with very limited exceptions” and bus routes were mostly normal with some detours, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said in an advisory.
But it said that the Metro North railroad, which connects New York with its suburbs in Westchester County and Connecticut, was still down due to “significant damage” to the system and continued overflow from streams. New Jersey Transit, another lifeline for commuters, suspended all but one rail line until further notice as it cleans up damage. But New Jersey Transit was running buses and light rail service, which runs within the state’s urban centers.
National rail operator Amtrak also reported severe disruptions. It canceled all service of its Acela Express, its line between Boston and Washington which is popular among business travelers between the East Coast’s major cities.
Amtrak resumed service between Philadelphia and Washington, but kept all trains off the tracks between Philadelphia and Boston “due to the extensive flooding, debris on tracks and power issues,” an advisory said.
