Harlem Line train breaks down, riders transferred
Photo credit: Angela Gaul | A southbound train pulls into the New Rochelle Metro-North station. (March 27, 2012)
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Riders on a Dutchess County-bound Metro-North train were transferred Thursday night after the train carrying them experienced mechanical problems, an MTA spokesman said.
The train was the 4:38 p.m. departure from Grand Central Station, which runs on the Harlem Line through Putnam County to Wassaic, the line's last stop, spokesman Aaron Donovan said.
At 5:57 p.m., conductors reported a mechanical problem on the train. The train made it to the Brewster platform, Donovan said, and passengers were told to exit and wait on the platform.
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Two trains arrived within a few minutes and picked up those passengers, Donovan said -- one electrical-powered train that made its final stop at Southeast, and a diesel-powered, Wassaic-bound train that departed Grand Central Station at 5:57 p.m.
The passengers on the disabled train were delayed by a few minutes, but Donovan said other riders on the Harlem Line shouldn't experience delays.
It wasn't immediately clear how many passengers were on the Wassaic-bound train when it broke down. The MTA returned the train to its Brewster storage yard, where mechanics will assess the mechanical problem, Donovan said.
Responding firefighters were called back to their stations when conductors confirmed there was no fire. Mechanics believe the train's turbocharger failed.
"It put out a puff of smoke when it failed, but I wouldn't call it a full-fledged fire," Donovan said.
