Hunt for phantom train passenger who deliberately delays thousands of commutes by pulling emergency brakes

SOMETIMES it can feel as though trains never run on time.

And in New York, subway staff fear an unruly passenger or passengers may have been deliberately disrupting thousands of commutes for months or possibly years.

Officials believe the offender or offenders jump into the train car cabs, deliberately pull the emergency brake and then run off into the darkness.

New York City Transit is now hunting for the phantom rider or riders responsible after alerting the public on Tuesday.

“We suspect someone has intentionally disrupted thousands of commutes on the 2/3 lines today by activating multiple trains’ emergency brakes,” NYCT tweeted.

“If you see any suspicious behaviour, please @ or DM us details ASAP, including car #, so we can get trains back on schedule.”

Pat Foye, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, confirmed this was not an isolated incident.

But despite striking on average once a week for several months, the offender or offenders have not been caught.

Mr Foye fears this may have been going on for years and asked the public for help identifying the culprits.

MTA Transit President Andy Byford said he wants to ban those responsible from the subway.

“This is stupid it’s dangerous and it’s got to stop,” he said, according to AM New York.

Mr Byford says the offenders target newer train car cabs, then sometimes subway surf and run off into the train tunnel

“We think they’ve got keys. You couldn’t just walk in,” he added.

The suspect disrupts service primarily on the 2 and 5 lines from Flatbush Avenue in central Brooklyn to midtown Manhattan.

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