Subway Fire Halts Service

New York, NY —

A day after a top transit official declared that the subways were "better than ever," service on the B, D, A and C lines lurched to a halt for about three and a half hours this afternoon, due to a fire in a substation.

Transit spokesman Mark Gross says the fire broke out around 11:15 at a substation at 145th Street and Saint Nicholas Avenue, and power was cut to the subway lines. He says workers were at the substation at the time of the fire, but he says officials are still investigating the cause.

Four trains were stuck underground when the power went out, and hundreds of people had to be evacuated. Service was restored around 2:30. Yesterday, New York City Tansit president Lawrence Reuter told city councilmembers the subways were running better than ever.