The MTA may shut down at least some subway service during future blizzards rather than risk trains getting stuck, the Daily News has learned.

“We may need to shut down the system,” an internal Metropolitan Transportation Authority document says. “We need to change the philosophy of how we operate, particularly in snowstorms. Keeping the service running regardless might not be the best option.”

The agency’s subway division kept running trains in last month’s blizzard. Three A trains with hundreds of passengers were stuck in eastern Queens – including one for about seven hours.

Next time there’s such a severe blast, “We need to think about an organized shutdown of the system,” the document says.

The document is a draft summary of a meeting transit executives held last week to improve its storm response.

Officials have conceded some mistakes, including failing to initiate Winter Operations Plan 4 – the agency’s highest – until after the snow began falling. As a result, there was a lack of manpower needed to keep the rails clear of snow and ice.

“There were not many managers on duty that night” the document declares.

The December blizzard dropped nearly 2 feet on the city and was accompanied by strong gusts of wind. A storm expected to arrive tonight could drop 14 inches of the white stuff – or more.

A transit official said the MTA expects service to continue through this tamer storm.

In general, suspending service would be contemplated only in extreme cases, the official said. The most vulnerable segments of the system are open-cut stretches like the Dyre Ave. line in the northern Bronx and the N, F, B and Q lines in southern Brooklyn.

(Source: NY Daily News)