It’s So Hot That . . .

It’s so hot that the third rail on the A train buckled. No, seriously:

Temperatures reached 95 degrees in Central Park yesterday afternoon. That may not be a record for New York City — temperatures soared to 106 degrees in Central Park on July 9, 1936 — but the National Weather Service still deemed yesterday worthy of a heat advisory for the region, warning that heat and humidity would make temperatures feel above 100 degrees.

Today may feel worse: forecasters said that temperatures could reach 100 degrees near La Guardia Airport and in Newark, and Central Park may sauté in the upper 90’s.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said to help residents cope, especially those who did not have air-conditioning, the city set up more than 300 cooling stations — schools or city offices with ample air-conditioning and cold water.

The hours for 51 public swimming pools were extended, he said, remaining open an extra hour until 8 p.m., and spray showers in parks and playgrounds remained open until sunset.

. . .

A Manhattan-bound A train came to a halt at 12:45 p.m., shortly after it left the Beach 67th Street station in the Rockaways, when its electrified third rail buckled from the heat. About 70 passengers remained on the train until about 2:30 p.m., when they were led several hundred feet along the tracks to an intersection where they made their way to the street, said Deirdre Parker, a spokeswoman for New York City Transit.

The Post report makes it sound absolutely totally utterly horrible:

While no injuries were reported, passengers were furious with MTA, saying the workers could have gotten them off a lot faster instead of allowing them to roast in cars until 3 p.m. with no air conditioning.

Transit officials said the passengers were on the train for so long because the MTA first planned to send a rescue train to pick them up. But that plan was scrapped, and they walked everybody off.

“They brought all the people into three cars and then opened the doors so they would have fresh air and to make sure they were safe,” a transit spokesman explained.

In other words, the only thing worse than being stuck on an unairconditioned train is being crammed into only three cars of a stuck unairconditioned train.