Turns out, we subway riders really got away lucky this morning.

There were major power outages on the New Jersey Transit lines and Amtrak. Trains just stopped dead iin their tracks (no pun intended…on maybe a little).

Usually, that means subway issues because people flood over on the PATH or other areas. The bottom line is that many train riders don’t end up at Penn Station because they found alternate ways to get in the city. So, they head to the subways once they get in town. Typically, big backups occur at the stations near PATH stations and major bus stops.

This morning though, there didn’t seem to be much of a subway crisis. Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Conditions may be headed back in the right direction: improving. By that I mean there doesn’t seem to be a major surplus in riders. As I stand on the platform right now, it does not seem to be especially crowded.

However, it does seem to be taking forever for the train to get here. Speak of the devil…here it comes. PACKED! Aaaand there it goes. Without me on it. There were too many people on board already for me to even attempt getting on.

Of course, there were plenty of idiots who did. People will do everything short of crowd surf the people in the train.

“What’s that? One more? Sure! Jump on top…there’s plenty of room over the grab rails.”

I take back what I just said about it not being crowded. Since 4 people made it onto the last train, there are now twice as many people waiting here for the train.

OMG. They just announced that the next train is at 34th Street. That’s like 5 stops away still!

Alright, I’m going to have to get my game face on to make this next one. Gonna have to holster the Blackberry to I can claw my way on board.

You think if I get down like a lineman in the “ready possition,” people might get out of my way? Just a thought.

Almost had to trip an old man, but I made it. It took abou 12 tries for them to get the doors closed. I say after the 6th try, they should be allowed to say “screw it” and start rolling. What ever or whom ever is stuck in the door is simply out of luck. Sorry lady. Looks like that big ass Coach bag of yours just isn’t going to make it. Let’s roll!

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

It is me or did the MTA juts decide to go ahead with the proposed service cuts anyway? This could be residual volume from the UN gridlocks, but I doubt it.

This week, there have been constant bottlenecks on the platforms. There are always waaaaaay more people waiting for the train than space will allow. You’ve got to wait 2 and sometimes 3 trains just to get on board.

Ohh snap…there’s the express train. Does anyone else have a sense of danger when you arrive at a station at the same time the express train across the platform arrives? You just know that a sea of people are about to slam into eachother. Tons of people from this train are about to make a dash for it so they can catch the express. Then people from the express are going to dive into this train. The entire exchange always has an air of panic around it.

I just hope grandma doesn’t get mowed down as she hobbles across the platform!

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

You wouldn’t think that rain could cause so many problems on the subway, but it does. Apparently, the 2 and 3 trains are taking it in the rear today especially well.

This morning, there were downtown issues on the express tracks. This evening, it seems like they were never resolved, or just got worse.

The part that really sucks is that the rain brings more people into the subway. If there’s a quick storm, then there really isn’t a noticable difference. But if it rains for more than half a day, the subway gets slammed with people.

Thousands of people decide to go for the subway instead of walking. Unfortunately that means a lot more single stop riders. They jump on for only one stop and then get off. It causes insane holdups in the doorways. Above ground, it becomes impossible to get a cab, so those people come down here to. Then there’s the buses…fugetabowdit.

There’s nothing like being pressed up against a soaking wet stranger. Mmmm

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Ok so the second part of the headline doesn’t mean anything. 🙂 It popped into my head, and I thought it was dramatic.
So anyway…yeah…you come here often? Ok this is getting awkward.

There have been a bunch of stalled trains the last couple days it seems. Every time we get a little rain, stuff start breaking all over the system. The 2 and 3 uptowns were running local around 72nd Street this morning because of a stalled train. How does something that doesn’t have an engine stall? The trains are all electric. Maybe they should say “powerless” instead.

Anyway, I have never been stuck on a stalled train (as I look for wood to knock on in this subway car). That must SUCK. Like I said, they must “stall” because there’s an electrical problem or something. So that leads me to believe that the air conditioning would be lost too. Double suck. I would shoot myself if I had to stand on a stalled, packed, air conditionless train for 30+ minutes while they fixed (assuming it stalls between stations). That is my personal hell.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

It is annoying how one little problem on a subway line can screw things up EVERYWHERE. A five minute diversion on the C train can cause hours of backups on the 1 train. Stuff like that.

This morning, there must have been a holdup somewhere because the entire platform was 10 people deep. Even then, it took forever for the next train to arrive.

You know how this goes. Even when the train finally did come, it was already packed to the roof with people. The doors open up and one person gets off. That’s always promising. So an additional 30 people try to get in each door of an already full car.

There’s always that asshole that yells, “Could you move in please?!” Yeah ok buddy. Like we all have tons of room around us.

I had to shove a guy out of the train today. He ran up to the door and tried to push people in so he could squeeze in. I shoved him back right in the middle of his chest and said, “You are out of your mind.”

All of this because somewhere a single train threw off the schedule, and the rest of us have to suffer.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

What’s with all the subway cars with broken air conditioning?

The MTA has insane surpluses every year, yet there are still trains crusing around with random cars that have no AC.

In a hurry, I unknowingly jump onto those busted cars and immediately say to myself, “Well, maybe if I let the doors close on my head I will stop thinking abou how f***ing hot it is in here!”

Then I am just left here praying that we get to the next stop quickly so I can run down to the next car. Of course, I am not the only one thinking that. So there’s a herd of us running down the platform. Ohh and that’s after we fight off the idiots that are trying to get IN the hot car after we tell them not to.

Here’s my request of the MTA: Just lock those cars. Ok so they are broken. Fine. Just don’t let people in them.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Our NJT riding brothers and sisters are out of luck this afternoon. The Secaucus Junction to/from Penn Station was shut down. But I just heard that it may be coming back online now.

Expect a slightly more crowed subway train around midtown today!

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…