Rail subway hero

Saves man in 7 train tunnel

Medical emergency sent disoriented man (pictured) into Queens subway tunnel on Tuesday. Train operator Louis-Mark Perry led him to safety. (Photo courtesy of Jacqueline Johnson)

A medical emergency sent a wayward subway rider stumbling into the 7 train tunnel in Queens during a busy Tuesday morning commute — but a sharp-eyed train operator managed to pull him to safety.

Train operator Louis-Mark Perry was about to take his No. 7 train from the Hunters Point Ave. station to the Vernon-Jackson stop about 8:30 a.m. when he saw the man pressed against the subway tunnel wall — where there is no way for anyone to stand while trains pass by.

Perry, 48, forced the train to a sudden stop, while the man — in a suit and dress shoes — began to walk out of the tunnel, nearly coming into contact with a piece of car equipment called a contact shoe.

“He is inches away from touching something that’s the equivalent of touching the third rail,” Perry told the Daily News on Tuesday in an exclusive interview. His heart in his mouth, Perry shouted to the confused man to stay put.

Perry had already asked the Rail Control Center for permission to bring the man onto his train — and to climb down on the track himself.

He was able to coach the disoriented rider back onto the subway car to safety — steering him away from possible electrocution.

“He was somewhat in a daze. He kept saying, ‘I was just trying to go to work,’ ” Perry said. “I’m trying to explain to him that this is not the best way to try to get to work.”

A commuter snapped a photo of the man in his business suit and natty shoes as he squeezed between the train window and grimy tunnel wall.

“Apparently crawling through the 7 train tunnel at Vernon-Jackson is now an acceptable way to board the train with no repercussions by the MTA,” shocked passenger Jacqueline Johnson posted to Twitter. “Wonder if the cops were even called on this guy?”

The MTA did alert riders that a person was removed from the tracks.

Perry’s brave act earned him accolades from his boss, NYC Transit President Andy Byford.