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MTA confirms it did not call buses to transport stranded Metro-North passengers at 2 a.m.
Posted: Updated:The MTA has confirmed that it did not call buses to transport Metro-North passengers who were stranded during a storm last weekend.
Alex DiRafaelle says he was trying to get home to Westchester early Sunday morning when his travel plans hit a snag.
He boarded a train in Grand Central thinking he'd wind up in Harrison. Instead, he says the train crew told them to get out at the Botanical Garden stop in the Bronx.
According to Metro-North, trees fell onto overhead power lines, cutting power to the signal system, and resulting in two different two-hour suspensions of train service between Woodlawn and New Rochelle.
"There was no explanation as for why they dropped us off, there was a pretty poor sounding announcement over the loud speaker, and the woman essentially just said, 'this is where we're letting everyone off.' There was no other trains and no other way home," says DiRafaelle.
The MTA told News 12 that it did not call for buses to transport passengers because train service resumed before buses would have arrived.
DiRafaelle says he paid $65 for an Uber ride on top of the train fare he'd already paid just to get home. He says he filed a claim, and the MTA offered him a free Metro-North trip.
The travel mess has caught the attention of state legislators like Sen. Shelley Mayer who says she'll speak with the MTA. She wrote in a statement, "Everyone understands when the railroad decides that safety requires a train to stop running, but I don't understand when customers are not helped to get home after midnight far from their destination."
Metro-North says it's reviewing the conduct of train crews during this incident and will take corrective actions if needed.