People Packed Like Sardines (or Pickles) On Morning Commute

What appeared to be hundreds of commuters clogged the Larchmont Metro-North platform this morning, awaiting an 8:35 a.m. train into New York City on the New Haven line after a broken brake line took an earlier car out of service.

The Metro-North train left the Harrison station a little before 8 a.m., en route to Grand Central Station.  Shortly after leaving Larchmont at 8:01 a.m., a loud “pop” resonated with the passengers, and the train ground to a halt, according to a Harrison resident that asked not to be identified.

MTA crews and vehicles were able to push the train back to the Larchmont station, stranding passengers at the stop until help arrived, according to a secondhand account from the Harrison resident’s friend, Roselynn Scarfo, who tipped Patch off to this morning’s occurrence.

“Throngs of people waited patiently for the next train, and then packed in like pickles for the commute into the city.  There literally were people lined up waiting out into the street because there was no room on the platform,” Scarfo said, recounting her observations as she waited for a 9:01 a.m. Larchmont train, which was delayed by 15 minutes.

Executive Director for Miss Westchester Pageants Dee van Eyck had been waiting for the 8:21 a.m. train from Larchmont to NYC—which was due to arrive at 8:55 a.m.—and was delayed by 20 minutes, arriving at Grand Central at approximately 9:15 a.m.

"[There were] masses of people on the Chatsworth Avenue bridge and the silhouettes of hundreds of commuters waiting on the platform for the train," van Eyck said, continuing, "I was one of the lucky ones to board that first train!"

According to MTA Press Secretary Marjorie Anders, the broken brake line couldn’t be fixed, and “was taken to the yard.”

“Our customers were put on the next two trains,” she said, adding that this is standard operating procedure for MTA trains that suffer mechanical difficulties that can’t be fixed immediately.

This is especially frustrating to New Haven line commuters like Scarfo who, , had rush hour service cut by 10 percent and, back in December, saw increases in

The reductions in service were due to a particularly harsh winter, according to statements on the Metro-North website, that caused widespread failures on air and electronic systems on the over 40-year old New Haven Line.  

Editor's Note:  A comment from Dee van Eyck was added to a previous version of this article.