Raccoons Rack Up a Growing Number of Subway Delays
A Saturday-night delay along the L line in Brooklyn marked the latest in a growing number of subway service disruptions pinned on raccoons, according to internal incident reports obtained by THE CITY.
“The culprit was determined to be a raccoon underneath the train,” @nyctsubway tweeted after the operator of a Canarsie-bound L reported striking an animal near Broadway Junction, activating the train’s emergency brakes.
It was, according to the reports, the 11th time this year a raccoon-subway encounter ended with a service snag.
That’s up from five raccoon-related subway disruptions in 2018. In 2016, there only was a single report of raccoons affecting service, when a train operator said he let go of an N train’s master controller after being startled by three of the critters at the 18th Avenue station in Brooklyn.
Trapping and a strong fur market could help reduce the number of nuisance racoon in New York City.