As a powerful blizzard continued to pound New York City on Monday morning, the MTA is running modified subway and bus service and has suspended Long Island Rail Road operations indefinitely.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber, in a series of Monday morning TV and radio interviews, said most subway lines are operating with some changes amid the record snowfall.
Around 7:30 a.m. on Feb. 23, Lieber acknowledged some lines were experiencing major issues, including the L train facing significant delays, the C train and the Staten Island Railway both being temporarily suspended, and the A train running local rather than express service. He added that trains are also running less frequently.
Many of these lines, which run above ground over some of the more than 200 miles of subway track citywide, are exposed to the elements.
“The reason that the system is moving more slowly than usual and with less frequency [is because] we still have those snow fighting trains and the de-icing trains out there on the system clearing snow,” Lieber said on Fox5, referring to specialized trains designed to keep snow and ice from gathering on the tracks.
“We got to let them do their thing,” he continued. “And that means that, you know, the trains are going to be operating a little less frequently.”
The ongoing winter storm had already buried many parts of the city in at least 15 inches of snow by 7 a.m. on Monday, with wintry conditions and strong winds persisting throughout the morning.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a travel ban on city roads for all non-essential personnel through noon and declared a public school snow day for students, the first since 2019. Last month’s snowstorm forced public schools to move to virtual instruction for a day.
Lieber advised New Yorkers who must travel to use public transit.
All of the city’s buses have been running since they have had their tires chained, Lieber said. But service is less frequent and reliable than usual as the vehicles contend with the hazardous conditions and the city continues to plow its streets.
Asked about clearing sheltered bus stops, a responsibility that falls on the city rather than the state-run MTA, Lieber said Mamdani has made it a priority during Monday’s blizzard. The responsibility for clearing unsheltered bus stops falls on private property owners adjacent to the stops.
“We’re really hopeful that we’re going to see full clearing of bus stops made a priority as the storm winds down,” Lieber said on Pix11.
Mamdani said on Sunday that the city is geotagging unsheltered bus stops, sidewalks, and crosswalks to better understand where the city still needs to shovel.
The focus on clearing bus stops comes after Mamdani faced criticism following last month’s snowstorm over not moving quickly enough to remove piles of snow and ice from them.
Meanwhile, the Long Island Rail Road is suspended indefinitely, Lieber said, as Nassau and Suffolk Counties get pummelled by the storm; some eastern parts of Long Island have already seen upwards of 20 inches of snowfall.
He said it is still unclear when MTA crews will be able to clear the tracks and restore Long Island commuter rail service.
“When the wind dies down, and we can be sure how the drifting has settled, that’s what we know we have a situation where we can clear the snow fully, make sure the third rail is operational,” he said. “Obviously ,we’re going to shoot to try to operate service tomorrow, Tuesday. But right now, it’s just too early to say exactly when that suspension will be lifted. But we’re studying it carefully and trying to get ready for that moment.”
Unlike the LIRR, the MTA’s other commuter rail, Metro North Railroad, is operating, but on a weekend schedule.
The last time the MTA suspended LIRR service, along with Metro-North, was in February 2021.
