New York’s subway delays and disruptions are becoming more regular — here’s why

Track fires

The 168th Street subway station became overcrowded after a track fire caused massive delays on July 17, 2017.Twitter/ Natalie Brito

Track fires have also caused subway delays, but are not the main culprit behind regular disruptions.

Still, they are a headache. A July fire caused major delays along the A, B, C, and D lines, resulting in severe overcrowding in stations and long lines for alternative transit systems, like city buses.

That fire, like many others, was sparked by garbage left on the track.

The agency attempted to combat the issue by launching a five-year pilot program in 2012 that removed garbage cans from subway stations. The thought was people would be encouraged to take their trash out of the station, but the MTA deemed it a failure in March and shut down the pilot, am New York reported.