Investigation of the incident that occurred in the subway on August 29 has been completed. Due to a power outage, 83 trains were frozen on tracks in different parts of the city. No one was physically injured, but the passengers sat in the carriages for more than an hour, not knowing what was happening and what they should expect. Rescue teams made it to them to evacuate people, or at least allay their fears and calm them down.
The current governor, Katie Hawkul, had just started her duties, and it was one of her very first official steps when she promised that she would not rest until she got to the bottom of what had happened.
“New Yorkers deserve absolute trust in the operation of the subway system, and it is our responsibility to restore that trust,” the governor said in a statement.
Hawkul kept her word. The reason for the large-scale failure has been established: a stupid mistake by one of the MTA employees, who accidentally pressed the wrong button. Everyone can make a mistake, of course, but in technology to prevent this kind of trouble, various kinds of safety devices are installed, as they say in such cases – “from a fool” (foolproof). This expression is not intended to offend anyone. Just professional slang.
Was there such a device in this case? Theoretically it was. The button must have a plastic fuse. But at the time of the incident, for some unknown reason, he was absent.
Now MTA engineers are loudly talking about the need for various improvements and modernization of equipment. But the trust that Hawkul spoke of is once again broken. The story about this button caused outrage.
“Hawkul is right that passengers should not be subjected to such a test,” insists Danny Pearlsteen, co-director of the Riders Alliance. “When traffic is recovering so slowly, there is no room for such mistakes.”
36-year-old Jessica Cruz believes that the leadership of MTA should be burnt with shame.
“This is why I only ride the subway when it’s essential,” she told a Daily News reporter. – It is impossible to reconcile with this. People pay a lot of money, but there is always something wrong. “
Newspaper headline:
Unlucky button
.