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Apparent Fuel Leak Partially Shuts Down L Train

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Commuters walk to L train entrance to learn that service to Brooklyn is down due to a fuel leak.

“No Brooklyn! No Brooklyn!” shouted a man walking away from the L track in the 8thAvenue subway station Tuesday afternoon. A flurry of rushing commuters on their way to pursue alternate routes passed him and a few pivoted when they heard him.

The MTA partially suspended L train service Tuesday afternoon due to a fuel smell on the tracks near Graham Avenue. The fumes caused two passengers to faint, according to Gothamist.

The L train continued to operate between 8th Avenue and 1stAvenue, but was suspended between 1stAvenue and Morgan Avenue stations and had limited service between Morgan Avenue and Myrtle Wyckoff Avenue stations.

Dorothy Nelson, an MTA employee, was stationed with a colleague in front of the entrance to the L Train track at the 8thAvenue subway station to inform passengers about the situation.

“There was a gas leak at Graham Avenue,” said Nelson. “That’s been going on since yesterday apparently. They found it this morning.”

Her shift started at 2 p.m. and by 2:45 p.m., she said she had already redirected hundreds of passengers to different lines. She didn’t know how long the problem would go on and assumed that by the end of the day she would probably turn away thousands of passengers.

“I’m going crazy all day screaming this,” said Nelson. “And I know I’m going to go to bed dreaming about this.”

The MTA released a statement about the results of their investigation at 4:01 p.m. stating that the Department of Environmental Protection and the FDNY confirmed a “non-flammable heating oil” leaked onto the track causing the smell. The statement noted that the source of the oil was external and unrelated to the L train project and any form of MTA construction.

Service resumed around 3 p.m.

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