NEW YORK — A New York City Transit subway train collided with an out-of-service train this afternoon (Thursday, Jan. 4) on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, derailing one train and injuring at least 24 people.
The New York Times reports that the accident at about 3 p.m. involved a northbound No. 1 train moving at slow speed when it struck the other train, which was changing tracks adjacent to the station at 96th Street. At least eight people have been taken to hospitals. Media reports conflict on whether it was the in-service train, which was carrying about 300 people, or the out-of-service train that derailed.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced this evening that it would send a team to investigate the incident, with investigators expected to arrive on Friday.
FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Ian Swords told reporters that none of the injuries were serious, according to the New York Post, saying, “The injuries that were sustained were consistent with a low-speed train derailment.” The train, which had not fully left the station, was evacuated via the station platform.
New York City Transit is the division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that operates the city’s subways and buses. It advised on social media site X that service on the 1, 2, and 3 lines would be suspended at many stations in Manhattan for at least the rest of the day; that post also details where trains are not running and said to expect “severe delays” on all trains that are operating. Work continues this evening to repair the derailed train so it can be moved to its storage facility. After that, NYC Transit will inspect the tracks and repair tracks and infrastructure as needed.
“It’s a little messy down there,” New York City Transit President Richard Davey told a press conference. “It’s going to take us a while to get this service back up and running.” He said he hoped, but could not guarantee, that service would be restored by Friday rush hour.
“Obviously, two trains should not be bumping into one another,” Davey said. “We are going to get to the bottom of that.”
Davey said the out-of-service train had been vandalized, with someone pulling a number of emergency cords to activate its brakes.
“They were able to reset all of them except one, and that was the reason why that train was still stuck in the station,” he said. Four MTA employees were the only people on that train at the time of the collision.
New York City Transit plans an update on the situation at a Friday morning press briefing.
— Updated at 9:40 p.m. CT with NTSB plans for investigation, other details, additional photo.
Did out of service train roll backwards fouling switch? If so that probably prevented trip bar protection to work.
On the Trains Newswire a train’s movement is described as “changing tracks”!?!? That troubling thing is only exceeded by NYCSubway President Richard Davey’s comment that “…two trains should not be bumping into one another”.