It took nearly four hours for 27 people to be rescued from the Mon Incline after both cars stopped shortly after leaving their stations Saturday afternoon, a Pittsburgh Regional Transit spokesman said.
The two cars unexpectedly stopped 40 feet from their stations after departing for a trip just before 2:30 p.m., spokesman Adam Brandolph said.
The east car was at the bottom and on its way up with 22 passengers, while the west car was at the top and traveling down with five on board. Previous reports of the number of people on the cars were incorrect, the agency said.
Incline personnel tried to restart the incline before rescue efforts with Pittsburgh Public Safety began about 3:30 p.m.
All five people were rescued from the west car closest to the upper station by 5 p.m., Brandolph said.
A Pittsburgh fire ladder truck was called in about 5:30 p.m. to help rescue the 22 on the east car. That operation was completed by 6:15 p.m.
All of the passengers were medically evaluated at the scene, and no injuries were reported, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety.
“I want to extend my deepest thanks to the first responders — paramedics, firefighters and police officers — who helped get these riders to safety,” PRT CEO Katharine Kelleman said. “I also want to apologize to the riders who were inconvenienced today and thank them for remaining calm in a high-stress situation.”
The Mon Incline will be closed at least through Monday morning while PRT works to figure out why the 155-year-old incline stopped working, Brandolph said.
Shuttle buses will be operating from the bus stop at Station Square to the upper station of the Mon Incline until it reopens.
