“A” Train Riders Stranded in Seven-Hour Ordeal

Straphangers rescued in Queens after an overnight ordeal

Passengers stuck for several hours on four A trains stalled in snow drifts near Kennedy Airport were finally rescued at about 8 am this morning, NYC Transit officials said.

At least 400 passengers endured a 7-hour ordeal aboard four A trains, one stranded near Aqueduct race track and three others stranded near the Broad Channel train station, said MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin.

Snow drifts and ice on the third rail have stalled trains at the Broad Channel and Aqueduct stops in Queens, north and south of Kennedy Airport.

A rescue train has been sent to the train stuck at the Aqueduct stop, but the passengers had been stranded since 1am last night.

According to news reports and eyewitness accounts, the stranded passengers were without food, water and access to the bathroom.  But NYC Transit said, the stuck straphangers did have access to the bathroom.

The passengers on the train near Aqueduct had heat and we able to exit the train, which was partially in the station, to use the bathroom, Soffin said.

The passengers stranded at the Broad Channel station were able to exit the train, but there was nowhere for them to go, so they were effectively marooned on the train, Soffin said.

 

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