Dozens of Metro-North trains were delayed Friday morning after thieves stole copper cables from tracks in Bronx late Thursday.
The railroad was forced to keep one track closed near the Williamsbridge station in Bronx, causing 40 train delays on the Harlem and New Haven lines during the morning rush, said Metro-North spokesman Aaron Donovan. The trains were delayed up to 10 minutes.
Metro-North workers discovered around 11:30 p.m. Thursday that thieves had taken the cables — critical parts of the train power system — from three of the four tracks near the Williamsbridge station.
Crews worked through the night to get three of the tracks into service by 6:45 a.m. One track remained out of service Friday morning, but officials expect it to be repaired in time for the evening rush, Donovan said.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority police continue to investigate the incident.
Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to call the NYPD‘s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1–800–577–TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1–888–57–PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers’ website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
All tips will be kept strictly confidential.