7 train suspended following ice on third rail

Updated 4:36 p.m.

Icy conditions were causing headaches for more than just drivers in Queens on Monday.

Service was suspended on the No. 7 train in both directions beginning that morning after ice built up on the third rail and a train lost power, according to an MTA spokeswoman.

The stalled train, which got stuck near Queensboro Plaza about 9:30 a.m., had to be pulled back into the station by another train after riders were stuck for about two hours. Four more trains that were stopped between stations had to head back to the 61st-Woodside stop.

“Would love to take an alternate train but I’m stuck on the train for an hour now in between stops,” Dmytro Fedkowskyj said, expressing his frustration through The Courier’s Facebook page.

Before the train stalled an umbrella was dropped on the third rail at 52nd Street 30 minutes earlier and caught fire.

Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito said at a storm update Monday afternoon that the dropped umbrella led to suspensions. Because trains were not running, ice built up on the rails.

But an MTA spokeswoman could not confirm that the incidents were related and said after the umbrella fell on the tracks local service was rerouted to the express tracks, but returned to normal by 9:40 a.m.

There is no word yet on when service will be restored, but according to the MTA, the rails must be de-iced before trains can run again.

There is currently shuttle train service between Flushing-Main St and 74 St-Broadway in both directions.

The MTA is providing shuttle buses between Vernon Blvd-Jackson Av and 74 St-Broadway in both directions, and the Long Island Rail Road is cross honoring at the following stations: Flushing, Mets-Willets Point, Woodside, Hunters Point and Penn Station

The line of commuters waiting for buses in Flushing was three blocks long, according to the 109th Precinct, which tweeted photos of the riders waiting in the freezing rain.

Hundreds of commuters on line for @MTA shuttle bus from Main St in #109pct to 74 St due to #7 train not running. pic.twitter.com/PRxJMQ6CEl

— NYPD 109th Precinct (@NYPD109Pct) February 2, 2015