Crews restore burnt 110th St. station in 10 days
The MTA on Monday reopened the Manhattan subway station where a heroic train operator died 10 days ago in a raging fire.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority crews worked around the clock to restore the 110th St. station on the No. 2 and 3 lines in Harlem, which was burnt to a crisp March 27 after a blaze erupted on an uptown train.
The smoke from the flames was so strong that train operator Garrett Goble, 36, died in the tunnel while helping riders to safety.
The fire charred several train cars, damaged the station’s platforms and tiles, and destroyed a series of communication cables in the tunnel.
After authorities completed their investigation of the scene, the burnt train was moved to a subway rail yard and crews spent two days clearing the tracks near the station.
Scheduled service on the 2 and 3 lines resumed the following Monday, but bypassed the damaged 110th St. stop for a week.
The fire required engineers to replace 1,200 feet of antenna cables and 3,000 feet of fiber optic cables in the tunnel, according to agency spokesman Ken Lovett. Another 360 square-feet of charred wall and floor tiling was also replaced.
The work wrapped up Monday morning as crews repainted portions of the station and power-washed the space to eliminate an intense smoke smell left in the fire’s wake.
Another set of fires that started on the nearby 86th and 96th Sts. platforms at around the same time as the one at 110th St. did not require repair work. Those stations were up and running a few days after the blazes.
The speedy repairs were completed even though the city is in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic, which as of Sunday had taken the lives of at least 33 MTA employees.
“Train Operator Garrett Goble was a hero for delivering transportation for people working to save lives during a pandemic, and for trying to help riders during the fire that tragically took his life,” said InterimNYC Transit President
Sarah Feinberg. “Transit workers did a remarkable job getting a horribly damaged station repaired, restored and cleaned up with the dignity and speed that Goble’s memory and our customers deserve.”
The causes of the fires remain under investigation. Police, who suspect arson, have spoken with at least two people of interest in the case.
Officials from the MTA and Transport Workers Union Local 100 have described the fire as an act of arson that turned into a murder.