Link.
The PA bus terminal:
The PA bus terminal:
New York became a frigid commuter hell Thursday as a slushy snowstorm froze train service to Long Island and upstate, slid buses and subways to a halt, and closed the George Washington Bridge.
Headed for the suburbs? Eight Long Island Rail Road lines and all Metro-North main lines were delayed.
Headed for New Jersey? The Port Authority Bus Terminal got so crowded after NJ Transit cut service — delaying buses for up to three hours — frustrated commuters were turned away as a safety precaution.
Did you want to drive to New Jersey instead? Well, the George Washington Bridge shut down during rush hour, the city Office of Emergency Management reported.
A 25-car pileup on the snow-slicked Manhattan-bound side of the bridge about 3:25 p.m. caused the delay, said a source.
The Port Authority was so badly prepared for the storm that it had to call city Sanitation Department crews to plow the bridge, said the source. Usually, the Port Authority plows the bridge itself.
City and Port Authority spokespeople denied that the city was asked to plow the bridge. In any case, the bridge didn't reopen around 6:30 p.m., the city reported — but the residual delays continued for hours.
The Sixth Ave. line was delayed by a signal problem at Rockefeller Center, disrupting southbound B, D, F and M trains.
A switch problem at Astoria-Ditmars Blvd. in Queens forced service changes on the N, Q, R and W lines. Those lines were recovering from a signal problem at 14th St.-Union Sq. around 4 p.m.
Delays were also reported on L train, and on all the numbered lines except the 7.
Commuting to Long Island was also no fun. Malfunctioning track switches west of the Woodside station in Queens slowed six Long Island Rail Road branches, officials reported. Trains were delayed up to 15 minutes, and some trains were canceled.
