Efforts were underway on Friday to clear the aftermath of a collision and derailment that occurred in a Manhattan tunnel, causing further disruptions for the New York City subway system. On Thursday afternoon, two trains underneath the city collided resulting in minor injuries sustained by approximately 24 passengers.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials reported that on Thursday, at approximately 3 p.m., a train heading north with roughly 300 passengers on board was transferred from the express to the local track near the station at 96th Street. While executing this maneuver, it crashed into another train consisting of four workers out of service.
During a press conference near the station on Friday, Janno Lieber, Chair of MTA, expressed his relief that the low-speed crash did not result in more casualties. He added that subway operations would partially resume as soon as workers reposition and clear out the derailed train from the site. By Friday morning, nine passenger cars had been successfully rerailled by workers out of ten.
The President of NYC Transit, Richard Davey, spoke about the difficulty in putting back on track the last car as it was impeded by the limited height of tunnel. He stated that they had to gradually elevate and relocate the car because of its restricted surroundings.
According to Davey, the passenger train was authorized to proceed on Thursday while the out-of-service train wasn’t. He mentioned that the reason for their collision is still being investigated.
On Friday, a group from the National Transportation Safety Board came to New York City in order to examine the root of the accident. As of now, there hasn’t been any indication when these findings will be released through a briefing by NTSB officials.
The officials observed that the train engaged in the crash had already been taken out of service due to vandalism. The collision caused damage to its wheels and therefore, it will be towed away once the repositioning of the passenger train is done.
Rare events such as this have occurred rarely in the extensive 119-year legacy of New York’s subway system. The most severe calamity was recorded on November 1, 1918, when a fast-moving train derailed in Brooklyn causing over ninety-three deaths.
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A more recent derailment took place at Manhattan’s Union Square Station located near the area surrounding 14th Street on August 28, 1991. This incident resulted in five casualties and subsequently revealed that the operator had been intoxicated with alcohol leading to his conviction for manslaughter charges later on.
