The subway train derailment that happened in the Upper West Side on Thursday is causing major delays for train lines 1, 2, and 3. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) confirmed the first car of a number 1 train came into contact with another inoperative train north of the 96th Street station around 3 p.m. — derailing the first car of the subway train.
A northbound commuter 1 train rear-ended a work train leading to some kind of a derailment on the Upper West Side, MTA sources told NBC New York. https://t.co/CQSZG2jNmE pic.twitter.com/3cXlidYKh6
— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) January 4, 2024
There were no reported fatalities but at least 26 people are suffering with minor injuries. The largest impact, however, will be felt by local commuters; as of Friday morning, all three trains were still experiencing severe disruptions.
MTA officials stated in a press conference that major subway disruptions will extend throughout the day, but they are working to remove and fix the disabled train car, and hope to get limited service restored by the end of the day.
Officials advise commuters to expect extreme delays on all three trains and to consider taking a bus, taxi, or nearby subway as alternatives. Authorities describe the derailment as a minor one that happened at a slow speed and occurred as the passenger subway train clipped another disabled train as it left the station.
Richard Davey, the New York City Transit Authority President, said the abandoned train had been “vandalized” after several emergency cords were deliberately pulled by someone, making it inoperable and leaving it stuck.
About 300 passengers were removed from the derailed subway, with firefighters evacuating the majority of people from a train that wasn’t involved in the accident, but was forced to stop due to the collision.
“Thankfully there were no serious injuries. Obviously, two trains should not be bumping into each other. We will get into the bottom of that,” Davey said. Despite the MTA describing the incident as “minor,” for the passengers on board — it was anything but.
Passengers were left frightened and stunned and described a horrific scene of loud crashing and everyone screaming. “I started crying and started having a panic attack, then I drank some water and threw up everything,” said commuter Zor Sanchez. Other passengers recalled smoke billowing up inside the train car, which created more panic.
“The train did fill up with smoke, we saw lots of sparks. Everyone said to open the window. So, everyone quickly opened the windows, which helped dissipate the smoke,” said Daniel Torres.
Some witnesses report the environment as being completely panicked until the fire department arrived, while others claimed that despite the situation, everything stayed relatively calm. “People were asking that everybody was OK, it was a good New Yorker experience,” Danny White said. “It was as good as it could have been.”
