The good news is that the problem was resolved relatively quickly.
The bad news is that this issue pretty much could not have happened at a worse time of day.
Metro North’s area for improvement: Communications. There was a one-hour-and-fifteen-minute stretch of silence from Metro North…at the height of rush hour (5:08 PM to 6:23 PM).
In this window, there were no e-mail alerts sent by Metro North.
The good news: Clever Commuters stepped up and filled the information void.
Here is a color-coded breakdown of how the news flowed during this evening’s incident.
Color key:
Red – Information from Clever Commute
Blue – Information from Metro North
[4:39 PM] Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Line Service is temporarily delayed into and out of Grand Central Terminal due to power issues. As more information becomes available we will notify you as soon as possible. Please listen for announcements at your station.
[5:08 PM] Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Line Service is currently experiencing delays of 30 to 40 minutes into and out of Grand Central Terminal due to earlier power issues. Please listen for announcements at your station.
[5:14 PM] No northbound trains since 4:30
[5:24 PM] Track numbers are only posted for 2 trains. The rest of New Haven line is standing around waiting for a track number
[5:45 PM] 536 Grand Central to Croton tried to leave at 540 but now stalled 50 yards along platform.
[6:23 PM] Hudson Line Service is currently experiencing delays of up to 25 minutes due to earlier power issues in Grand Central Terminal. Please listen for announcements at your station.
[6:25 PM] 536 Grand Central to Croton took 20 mins to clear Park Ave tunnel…but moving full speed since
[6:27 PM] Harlem Line Service is currently experiencing delays of up to 35 minutes due to earlier power issues in Grand Central Terminal. Please listen for announcements at your station.
[6:31 PM] New Haven Line Service is currently experiencing delays of up to 35 minutes due to earlier power issues in Grand Central Terminal. Please listen for announcements at your station.
[6:33 PM] 6:13 Stamford to Bridgeport was 19 mins late departing