Service Restored After Water Main Break

An early morning water main break at 13 St and 5 Av in Greenwich village flooded subway tunnels servicing the and  lines with thousands of gallons of water causing service disruptions into the morning peak period affecting tens of thousands of subway riders.

The break occurred shortly before 1:00 a.m.  Press reports indicated that the 36-inch cast iron main that ruptured dates back to before 1900.  NYC Transit personnel were “at the ready” and once the water was contained at approximately 5:30 a.m., they got to work.

Two pump trains were dispatched but were not needed.  A pump room located at 9 St as well as portable pumps that were positioned into the area were able to pump water that had risen 24-30 inches along 300 feet of track north of the West 4 St station.  Drains along the tracks were able to absorb much of the water that had entered the system.  The drains performed well as a result of the attention they have received during FASTRACK work along that corridor.

Workers then sprang into action to clear muck and debris from the tracks, assess damage, and make necessary repairs.  After test trains ran through the area, full service was restored around 10:25 a.m.

During any type of service disruption, customers can get up-to-the-minute service updates through the service status widget atwww.mta.info or delivered directly to their cell phones, smart phones or other mobile device by signing up for service email and text alerts by clicking here.   

This system allows you to receive email and text message alerts for all MTA agencies delivered to as many email addresses as you wish as well as to your mobile device in the form of text messages.  You can receive alerts for subways, buses, and commuter rail lines, as well as traffic alerts on MTA Bridges and Tunnels. In addition to signing up for real-time alerts, you can also choose to receive notices about Planned Service Changes, such as diversions caused by repair or maintenance work. If you only want to receive Planned Service Changes, without real-time alerts, you can choose this option as well.

“Know Before You Go”