(A7) At least 24 people were injured and hundreds were evacuated after two subway trains collided on the Upper West Side Thursday afternoon, causing both to derail, The New York Post reports.
24 people injured after 2 subway trains collided, causing derailment, at 96th Station in Manhattan. pic.twitter.com/MAvLCu6w10
— 🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) January 4, 2024
The accident occurred shortly after 3:00 p.m. local time, when a northbound 1 train with up to 500 passengers collided with another disabled 1 train and both derailed.
The disabled train was being worked on due to vandalism after someone went through the train pulling the emergency brake cords in several cars, MTA officials said, according to The New York Post.
Operations & investigations are actively ongoing at the subway derailment at 96th St & Bway
Service on the 1, 2, and 3 train lines is currently suspended in both directions.
All passengers have been safely evacuated.
Please continue to avoid the area & allow crews to respond. pic.twitter.com/GsvznE1VxG
— NYC Emergency Management (@nycemergencymgt) January 4, 2024
Four MTA workers were on board trying to reset the brakes at the time, but no customers.
Officials confirmed that at least 24 people suffered minor injuries and were taken to local hospitals.
“Fortunately, nobody was seriously injured. The injuries that were sustained were consistent with a low-speed train derailment,” FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Ian Swords told reporters outside of the train station Thursday night.
About 300 to 400 additional passengers were also evacuated from a train that was not involved but stuck behind the collision after power was shut down. The passengers got off through the train that had derailed, officials said.
As a result of the accident, the MTA said that 1, 2 and 3 train service could be disrupted and delayed in Manhattan through Friday morning.
“It’s going to take us a while to get this service back and running. We have crews down there now and I expect we’ll be out there all night,” said MTA President Rich Davey.
“My hope is we will have service tomorrow for rush hour, but I cannot guarantee that,” he added.
