This morning's rush hour commute turned into a considerably vexing experience for those poor souls trying to get to work along the 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 subway lines. The MTA says an "unauthorized person" on the trackbed at 14th Street is responsible for the delays, which have snarled multiple lines. One straphanger posted photos and video on Twitter of what she said was the individual in question:

By 8:40 a.m., there was no 1 train service in either direction between South Ferry and 42nd Street Times Square. Southbound 1, 2, and 3 trains were terminating at 34th Street Penn Station, and some 2 trains were being rerouted along the 5 line between Nevins St and 149 St-Grand Concourse in both directions. This resulted in delays on the 4/5 lines.

At 72nd Street on the Upper West Side, stranded travelers received an evolving series of messages. At one point, an announcement encouraged everyone to vacate the station and try hailing a cab, find a bus, or walk to another subway station. Then confused straphangers were told, "This 1 train isn't moving for the foreseeable future. Your best bet is to take the bus or the express train and double back." Minutes later, an announcement came that trains would be moving again soon, which they eventually did.

One commuter at 125th Street emailed to report that on her stalled train, the conductor announced that all power had been turned off at 14th Street due to an unauthorized person running on the tracks, and police were trying to catch them. The detailed announcement appears to be part of a new effort on behalf of the MTA to give straphangers more information about the cause of delays.

.@NYCTSubway the train conductor on downtown 1, train #2297, was great! She was super communicative during the delay pic.twitter.com/VdQiRtUVJm — Jen Chung (@jenchung) August 10, 2017

Unauthorized person on the tracks causing BIG TIME problems on 1/2/3 #wethecommuters A post shared by Jen Chung (@chungjen) on Aug 10, 2017 at 5:41am PDT

As of 9 a.m., the MTA said service had resumed with "extensive" delays. The MTA confirmed a "person was on the express tracks south of 14th Street, and was attempting to the touch the third rail, but we had turned off power." The unidentified person was taken into custody at 8:35 a.m.

The MTA could not immediately confirm if the person shown in the video and photos was the same individual who caused the delays.

UPDATE: An NYPD spokesperson said the unidentified man was taken into custody and removed from the subway at the Christopher Street station. The man, who appeared to be uninjured, was taken to Bellevue Hospital for evaluation.

In a statement, MTA spokesperson Shams Tarek said, "We commend the train and police personnel who got this trespasser removed safely and thank our customers for their patience during the ordeal."

Additional reporting by Aidan Gardiner

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