Every year around this time, a silent menace threatens the region’s transit system. Falling leaves. Already this season, slippery rail conditions caused by leaves have delayed Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road trains more than 700 times. On the subway, the B and Q trains have been held up regularly as they go aboveground through Brooklyn’s leafier precincts. How can fluttering foliage bring down a mighty rail network? The culprit is pectin, the same stuff that causes jelly to jell. It’s in leaves. When trains run over wet leaves, “it actually creates a slurry,” said John Kesich, a vice president at Metro-North. Because trains on slippery rails are harder to slow down, the railroads dial down speed limits and order drivers to start braking earlier. Hence the delays, which average 10 minutes. Metro-North power washes most of its track each night. But the leaves return.
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