MTA Worker Arrested for Fight with R Train Rider, Cops Say Updated January 1, 2012 2:56pm

An MTA employee was arrested for allegedly beating up a straphanger on New Year's Eve, police said. (DNAinfo/Jill Colvin)

MANHATTAN — Apparently, the R stands for "rage." 

An on-duty MTA employee lost it on a Manhattan-bound R train early Sunday morning, allegedly beating up a straphanger during a shouting match about 11 p.m. on New Year's Eve, the NYPD and MTA said.  

Train conducter Thomas Christopher, 35, was working late Saturday evening when he got into a scuffle with a passenger on an R train near the 36th Street station in Astoria, Queens, police said.

He had been arguing with the 18-year-old rider about having his feet on a seat before punching him, the New York Post reported.

Christopher, an MTA employee since 2007, is charged with assault in the incident, police and the transit agency said. The passenger was not charged, police added.

RELATED CONTENT

• Times Square New Year's Eve Celebration Draws Massive Crowds
• Cop Slashed with Scissors During Occupy Wall Street Protest on New Year's
• Love Blooms in Times Square on New Year's Eve
• Man Hangs Himself in Midtown Jail Cell After Allegedly Assaulting Wife
• Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber Fans Invade Times Square
• Pedestrian in Critical Condition After East Village Motorcycle Crash

By Sonja Sharp, DNAinfo.com

Follow Sonja on Twitter @sovietsonja