Water Line Break Floods Subways

A 92-year-old water main ruptured early Sunday in Times Square, buckling the street and flooding several major subway lines with water and mud.

New York City Transit officials hoped to have the tunnels cleared in time for the Monday morning rush hour on the West Side lines.

The break in the 48-inch, cast-iron pipe created a 6-foot geyser and caused part of the surrounding street to collapse. No injuries were reported and the main was capped after about 6 1/2 hours.

The basements of some nearby buildings were flooded but there was no major damage, officials said.

The cause of the rupture wasn’t known. The city’s water system is made up of 5,854 miles of pipe, about half of which was installed before 1930, the city’s Department of Environmental Protection said.