New York subway trains collide in Manhattan, 24 people injured
New York subway trains collide in Manhattan (Getty Images)
A subway crash happened on Thursday in Manhattan near West 96th Street, involving a train with around 300 passengers and an out-of-service train, causing both trains to derail. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) reported that 24 people were injured, but none of the injuries were serious, according to The New York Times.
During a news conference, MTA officials stated that the collision, which occurred around 3 p.m., did not seem to be due to equipment failure. The incident began when vandals activated the brakes of a No. 1 train at 79th St., causing it to stall. The out-of-service train, carrying transit workers, collided with the slow-moving No. 1 train at 96th Street as it switched back to a local track. The passenger train had received clearance to proceed.
Richard Davey, the president of New York City Transit, mentioned at the news conference that the vandalized train had many emergency brake cords pulled. An investigation into the cause of the accident has been initiated by the MTA.
Firefighters and MTA workers evacuated another 300 to 400 passengers from a train behind the collision site after cutting off power in the station. The derailment led to the suspension of service on the 1, 2, and 3 subway lines throughout most of Manhattan. As of 6:30 p.m., service on the northbound 1 train between 42nd and 137th Streets had not resumed.
Davey anticipated that crews would be working throughout the night to address the situation, expressing uncertainty about restoring service for the morning rush hour on Friday. “It’s a little messy down there,” he said. “It’s going take us a while to get this service back and running.”
Beijing metro crash
On December 15, 2023, a collision between two metro trains in Beijing during rush hour resulted in 102 people with broken bones, and over 500 people being hospitalized. The accident was attributed to slippery tracks caused by snowstorms, resulting in "signal degradation".
