New York

Epic Bus Line in Queens as Subway Signal Problems Strike Again

The dreaded signal problems plagued subway riders for yet another morning commute Tuesday, forcing alternative-seekers in at least one case to file into a bus line that looked more like a stakeout for Black Friday. 

Julie Huntington tweeted a photo of what she said was the line for the M60 bus from Astoria around 8:30 a.m. The picture shows people snaked around an entire tennis court, up one city block, under an overpass and down another block. Huntington said it was because of the disruption to the N line.

"Yikes! With morning N train service disruptions, the line for the M60 bus from Astoria is wrapped around the block! �� #MTA #Ntrain," she tweeted. 

Another Twitter user estimated there were about 200 people snaked around Astoria Boulevard waiting for the M60.

Tuesday's signal problems -- at Fifth Avenue-59th Street, Queens Plaza and later, Avenue P -- persisted for hours, affecting more than a half-dozen subway lines, including the N, F, M, Q, R, E, W and F, over the course of the morning. The MTA warned customers to expect longer wait times and crowds. 

Andy Byford, the new president of MTA's NYC Transit overseeing the subway system, apologized for the failure in service.

"That's not the kind of service I'm gonna be providing," he said. "Days like this morning drive me crazy. I really don't like ruining my customers' journey. That's not what I'm paid to do." 

Byford vowed to get to the bottom of what happened and make sure it doesn't happen again. 

For the latest service changes, see real-time transit updates below.

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