What to Know
- An investigation is under way after a northbound commuter 1 train rear-ended an out-of-service 1 train leading to some kind of a derailment just north of the 96th Street station on the Upper West Side
- At least 26 people suffered minor injuries, according to the FDNY. 300 people had to be evacuated off the train that derailed and another 300-400 had to be evacuated off a train behind the ones that collided
- 1/2/3 subway lines face a "major disruption" until at least the Friday morning rush hour, though no definitive time for resumption of service was given with crews needing to work all night to try to clear the tracks, MTA officials said
Authorities are investigating after one subway train rear-ended another at a Manhattan station Thursday, causing a minor derailment, according to the MTA. The low-speed collision has led to a "major disruption" of subway service through Manhattan for the evening commute, MTA said.
A report of the incident at the 96th Street station near Broadway came in around 3 p.m. MTA officials say a northbound commuter 1 train rear-ended an out-of-service 1 train leading to some kind of a derailment just north of the station on the Upper West Side. The out-of-service 1 train had earlier been vandalized and had four workers on it, according to the MTA.
At least 26 people were said to have minor injuries in the derailment and taken to area hospitals, according to the FDNY. The passenger train that derailed had approximately 300 people on board and they were evacuated, according to New York City Transit President Richard Davey.
In order to be evacuated and avoid having passengers walking on tracks, the FDNY said it took the passengers onto the work train and then they could access the platform from there.
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The investigation is in its preliminary stages. Davey said the out-of-service 1 train was vandalized by having its emergency cords pulled as a possible prank and all the cords, except one, had been reset. While the workers were resetting that train's cords, a transit official tells NBC New York "it came back to life" and started moving despite a red stop signal, leading to the collision with the passing in-service passenger train.
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"Obviously two trains should not be bumping into one another. We are going to get to the bottom of that," Davey said.
MTA officials said they have not ruled out human error. The NTSB said it is sending a team to investigate the collision, including the chair of the agency, and that they will be onsite Friday morning.
A passenger train behind the one that derailed also needed to have its 300 to 400 passengers evacuated, officials said.
What subways are affected for the evening commute?
Transit was heavily affected in the area. The MTA said there is no 1/2/3 service in most of Manhattan Thursday evening. See the latest MTA status here.
MTA officials said they are hoping to restore service through the 96th Street station in time for the Friday morning commute but cannot guarantee it at this point.
Thursday night, the MTA put out a post on X:
"1/2/3 service will be partially suspended at many stations in Manhattan through at least the end of today. Our crews are conducting an investigation after a train derailed near 96 St. We are also preparing to make repairs to the train that derailed, move it to its storage facility, inspect the tracks, and make any needed repairs to the tracks and infrastructure."
The MTA is advising for service between Manhattan and Brooklyn, passengers take N/Q/R trains and for service between Manhattan and the Bronx, passengers take Bx19. For service through Manhattan, the MTA said passengers should take A/B/C/D trains.
Metro-North was also cross-honoring between Marble Hill-225 St and Grand Central-42 St, according to the MTA.
Columbus Avenue on West 96th Street to West End Avenue is closed to emergency crews responding to the scene, according to the NYPD.
The FDNY was able to respond to the derailment in three minutes. Firefighters requested the power be turned off on tracks and began the evacuation process. Police officers were present at the station when the collision and began assisting passengers, said NYPD Chief of Transit Michael M. Kemper.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, in a post on X, said she has been briefed on the derailment.
Mayor Eric Adams advised people to avoid the area of 96th Street and Broadway.
