September 2013 New Haven Line power outage
| Industry | Rail transport |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | New York metropolitan area, Connecticut |
| Products | Commuter rail services |
The power outage on the New Haven Line in September 2013 was an unexpected electrical malfunction that interrupted Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line operations for a duration of twelve days. On September 25, 2013, a 138-kV primary feeder cable from Con Edison supplying electricity to an AC catenary section failed, causing a suspension of electric train services between Mount Vernon and Harrison, New York. This disruption impacted nearly 125,000 daily commuters and exposed weaknesses in the line’s electrical infrastructure, leading to demands for thorough investigation and system improvements.
Background
The New Haven Line operated by Metro-North Railroad connects New Haven, Connecticut with Grand Central Terminal in New York City. Serving approximately 125,000 passengers on weekdays and nearly 39 million annually, it ranks as the busiest rail corridor in the United States.
In September 2013, Metro-North was conducting transformer replacements at its Mount Vernon station as part of a project to support regenerative braking capabilities on the New Haven Line segment between Mount Vernon and Harrison stations. The New York Power Authority managed the project execution through contractors, while Con Edison maintained control over the station’s electricity supply.
Power failure
At the time of this upgrade, the backup feeder cable providing power was offline, and there was no established contingency arrangement between Con Edison and Metro-North for such a scenario. An attempt was made to source electricity from a substation in Cos Cob, Connecticut; however, this supply was inadequate for full line operation and was only utilized to assist stranded trains. Consequently, Metro-North operated diesel locomotives and arranged bus transportation until electric service was fully restored after twelve days.
In response, Con Edison adjusted transformers and related equipment at a temporary site to accommodate Metro-North’s specific power requirements. Subsequently, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal convened a hearing on October 28, 2013, to examine the incident and develop strategies to prevent similar failures along this vital passenger rail route.
Findings and effects
An Executive Summary issued by the New York Public Service Commission in November 2014 detailed the investigation results into the outage. The root cause was identified as liquid nitrogen used to regulate the flow of dielectric fluid within an inactive feeder cable; this process inadvertently caused freezing of dielectric fluid in an adjacent active feeder that supplied power exclusively to the station. Prior to this event, Con Edison had performed this freeze procedure approximately eighteen times per year without incident.
Following these findings, the Cos Cob connection now serves as a comprehensive backup power source when required. Additionally, protocols for monitoring liquid nitrogen usage in underground transmission feeders have been updated. The event also triggered a short-term evaluation of n-1-1 power supply contingency plans for municipal electricity consumers.