NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Hours after Gov. Kathy Hochul called for a review of a Queens power surge that disrupted service on several train lines, Hochul said Monday afternoon that the MTA found a "sequence of failures" led to the breakdown that was eventually restored.
"The MTA has uncovered a sequence of failures that resulted in some backup systems not providing power as designed last night, including an additional failure to quickly diagnose the underlying cause," she said in a statement.
Hochul said she has now ordered the MTA to use two independent engineering firms "to assist in a thorough deep dive of what happened and make recommendations to ensure this does not occur again."
Hochul said her administration and the MTA will learn what went wrong to ensure New Yorkers have full trust in the city's subway system.
"New Yorkers deserve absolute confidence in a fully functioning subway system, and I promise to do everything in my power to restore that confidence.”
Service on several subway lines were restored early Monday after several trains were disrupted due to a power surge in Queens, officials said.
"Last night, one-half of the New York City subway system experienced an. unprecedented system breakdown," Gov. Kathy Hochul said during a press conference Monday morning.
The surge was reported by Con Edison at around 8:20 p.m. on Sunday and was caused by a manhole fire in Long Island City.
"It was an unprecedented surge that resulted in the subway losing. signalization and communication ability," Hochul added.
The surge caused service on the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and L lines to be impacted from about 9:30 p.m. to around 11:50 p.m. and then resumed with delays once restored.
Multiple trains were stalled outside stations, including at East 86th Street and Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, and the East 153rd Street-Grand Concourse station in the Bronx, the MTA said.
About 300 passengers had to be evacuated at the East 149th Street-Grand Concourse station in the Bronx at around 10:20 p.m. after several trains stalled near the platform, according to the FDNY.
Subway riders on several trains were guided out by the FDNY and forced to walk through train tunnels after the sudden power loss.
There were no injuries were reported.