Q Train Delayed More than an Hour During Evening Rush

Straphangers taking the Q into Brooklyn yesterday afternoon were in for a messy commute, as “mechanical troubles” caused delays and a re-route on the N line, according to a spokesperson for the MTA.

At 4:30 p.m., the Coney Island-bound Q partially pulled into the Parkside Avenue station, where passengers were discharged from the front of the train, according to the MTA. All subsequent Q trains were re-routed on the N line from DeKalb to Stillwell avenues and about an hour and twenty minutes later, service resumed as normal, with subsequent delays, according to the MTA.

Matthew Landfield was on the stalled Q train yesterday, heading to his home near the Cortelyou Road station. He said about about 4:35 p.m., the Q reached the Parkside Avenue station, when the emergency brake had allegedly been pulled.

"The train had not fully entered the station, and the conductor first announced that passengers wishing to get off at Parkside had to move to the front of the train to disembark." Afterwards, the train was taken out of service, he said.

"A general announcement followed, stating that all Q and B trains would be routed over the N line from DeKalb to Coney Island. The mass of passengers
trudged out of the station, facing long walks to bus lines, or fighting over livery cabs as they scrambled to fill in the gaps. It was a mess to say the least," he said.

Tonia Gustafson, a Ditmas Park resident, reached the DeKalb Avenue Q station at 5 p.m., where she found a crowd of people who had been waiting for an estimated 45 minutes for a train, she said.

“The conductor said Prospect Park would be the last stop. We got in the train and it got to 7th Avenue very slowly and then it was taken out of service,” she said.

At 5:40 p.m., she exited the station at Flatbush and 7th avenues and found “throngs of people at every bus stop.”

“It was crazy out there,” she said.