NYC subway fires up 40 percent in 2004

NEW YORK, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Fires in New York City's subway system increased nearly 40 percent last year, delaying an average of 363 trains a month.

Most of the fires broke out in tunnels or along elevated tracks, the New York Daily News reported.

Transit officials blame the fires on increased trash being left behind by riders, with ridership hitting its highest level in decades last year. The fires are often ignited by the sparks of passing trains, the newspaper said.

Transit Authority spokesman Paul Fleuranges said the authority is working to haul away more trash.

From January through September, TA workers hauled 37,000 bags of rubbish -- just from the tracks along station platforms. In the last three months of 2005, the TA began shifting more workers to track cleaning duties.

The number of fires dropped in November and December, compared with the same months in 2004, the newspaper said.