Metro-North Trains Delayed in CT Friday Due to Downed Power Lines, Leaving Passengers Stranded
BRIDGEPORT — Metro-North train service on the New Haven Line remained disrupted Friday morning after downed wires trapped around 1,100 passengers on trains Thursday night.
Passengers on the line can expect delays of 10 to 15 minutes "as a result of repairs from downed overhead wires near Westport," an alert on Metro-North's website said Friday morning.
As of around 6 a.m. Friday, Metro-North said six trains on the New Haven Line were canceled Friday morning, most of them scheduled to depart from New Haven bound for Grand Central Terminal.
By around 9:15 a.m., the alert on the site showed only two trains Friday morning that remained canceled — the 7:25 a.m. and 7:52 a.m. trains from New Haven to Grand Central. Those canceled trains later were taken off the notice.
Two other Grand Central-bound trains departing from Fairfield-Black Rock and South Norwalk Friday morning were combined. The combined train will make all stops between Fairfield-Black Rock and Stamford before running express to Harlem-125 Street, Metro-North officials said.
One Friday morning train on the Waterbury branch, which runs between Milford and Waterbury, was scheduled to bypass Bridgeport "because of mainline congestion resulting from downed wires," Metro-North said.
Passengers were advised to transfer at Stratford for connecting service, and would be accommodated by a train from Stamford to New Haven, Metro-North said.
Amtrak did not appear to have additional cancellations Friday morning after the rail service also cancelled some trains Thursday night due to the downed wires. Amtrak's website showed several trains listed on time between New Haven and Penn Station as of Friday morning.
Metro-North, Amtrak and a local fire official said a power issue temporarily trapped around 1,100 people on three trains. Some passengers were stuck onboard for nearly three hours before they were allowed off, officials said.
New Haven Line service between Green’s Farms and Bridgeport was suspended because of a power issue in Westport, Metro-North Railroad officials said in a post on X at approximately 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Amtrak officials posted on X around the same time that its service has been suspended between New Haven and New York due to downed power lines.
Fairfield Fire Lt. Robert Smith said Thursday night that about 1,100 people were initially stuck on two Metro-North and an Amtrak train between the Southport and Fairfield stations.
“There’s no power on any of the trains right now. We have some fans the fire department brought in, so we’re trying to push some fresh air through the trains.” Smith said soon after the trains were stopped. “But, I would say its probably very warm on those trains.”
All passengers were eventually evacuated from the three stopped trains.
"MTA power crews will be working throughout the night to restore power to the corridor," the Fairfield Fire Department said in a Facebook post. "There is currently no timeframe for complete restoration. There could be delays for the morning commute so please check the status on MTA.Info before leaving home."
In removing the stranded passengers, officials had to make sure the downed wires and tracks were grounded properly so that no riders were hurt as they moved from train to train, Smith said.
One of the Metro-North trains, containing 350 people, was emptied and those passengers were taken to Green’s Farms station, Smith said at 8 p.m.
Just before 8:30 p.m., the Fairfield Fire Department said that the second Metro-North train was still without power and passengers were still on the train.
“The Amtrak train power has been restored and will be slowly moved through the area to NYC,” the department said at the same time.
By roughly 9:40 p.m. Thursday, all passengers had been evacuated, the Fairfield fire officials said.
The wires could not be repaired until the trains were removed from the area, Smith said, and Metro-North will have to decide how to best repair the lines. He said he expects repairs will likely take a “good portion of the night.”
It's not clear what caused the power lines to fall, Smith said, and Metro-North will determine the cause.
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