Investigators say a fuel spill sparked the massive fire under part of the Metro-North tracks in East Harlem.
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The ‘four-alarm fire’ resulted in services to and through Grand Central being temporarily suspended.
“There are the beams that have been cut to be able to do the temporary fix so that we can take the load off that column, transfer it to another section, open up the two center tracks of the structure and restore normal service”, said Prendergast.
The commuter line is running on a Saturday schedule and is at 60% capacity, MTA spokesperson Meredith Daniels said.
Officials are warning commuters to expect delays and extremely crowded conditions.
The MTA said customers traveling into and out of Grand Central Terminal are continuing to experience delays of up to 60 to 80 minutes due to congestion in the vicinity of the Harlem 125th Street station.
Officials looks at a fire damaged support column underneath the Metro-North tracks in New York, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. The nursery stored many chemicals there; Cuomo said, “It was a private business, I heard that it was a generator that [set] on fire and there were chemicals because there was a garden supply company, which then ignited and created extraordinarily hot fire”.
Newer columns on the viaduct were not damaged by Tuesday night’s fire.
Crowds were much thinner at Grand Central Thursday compared to the night before, and one reporter on the New Haven line was on a practically empty train that arrived on time.
Malloy said he has spoken with MTA President Thomas Prendergast and is closely monitoring the situation and receiving real-time updates on the status of the Metro-North rail line.
Repairs and testing are expected to take 24 to 48 hours, according to the Wednesday afternoon update.
New York City commuters should expect long delays and limited service Wednesday after a raging fire broke out beneath elevated train tracks in the city.
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The railroad says it will run a Saturday schedule for the Wednesday morning rush hour with trains stopping in the Bronx so passengers can connect to subway service into Manhattan. Buildings on both sides of the street were evacuated.
