UPPER WEST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) — Partial subway service was restored Friday after a subway train derailment on the Upper West Side, and now the NTSB is investigating both the cause and the MTA’s actions ahead of the disastrous collision.
NTSB officials say an unruly passenger began activating emergency brakes onboard a train, causing it to go into emergency mode, stopping the train.
They are now investigating the way the MTA decided to move that vandalized train, half of which had no brakes, north to a Bronx rail yard, which eventually collided with a northbound passenger train switching from the express to the local track, causing that train to push to the left and derail.
Officials also questioned why there were no cameras on the inside or outside of the disabled train, along with no data recorder on board. All three of those safety features would have quickly addressed what caused the crash and to prevent it from happening again.
They say that there is a lot of damage to trains and to the tracks, and it could take weeks to figure out an official cause.
Meanwhile, Thursday’s derailment continued to cause major delays for the Nos. 1, 2, and 3 train lines for much of Friday, but Governor Kathy Hochul announced that limited service to Nos. 1 and 3 train lines were restored to and from a reopened 96th Street at 5 p.m.
Service is still suspended south of the station to 42nd Street, and buses will take passengers between 42nd Street and 96th Street. No service to the No. 2 train is running on the west side of Manhattan.
It’s unclear when service will be restored between 42nd Street and 96th Street as crews work to fix and remove disabled cars.
At least 26 people, mostly passengers, suffered minor injuries, but the lasting impact will be felt as crews work to restore full service.
About 300 people were evacuated from the train that derailed, and firefighters also evacuated a few hundred people from a third train that wasn’t involved but had to stop in the tunnel because of the collision. They were walked to the 96th Street station.
“Thankfully there were no serious injuries,” Davey said. “Obviously two trains should not be bumping into each other. We will get into the bottom of that.”
While the MTA described the derailment as “minor,” it was anything but for the passengers on board who were left stunned and frightened.
Anthony Carlo continues our team coverage of the subway train derailment.
Passengers on the train told Eyewitness News that everyone was screaming and it was very scary when it happened.
“I started crying and started having a panic attack,” said Zor Sanchez, one of the passengers. “I drank water and threw up and everything.”
Other commuters recalled smoke filling up inside the train, which further added to the shroud of panic.
“The train did fill up with smoke, we saw lots of sparks,” said Daniel Torres “Everyone said to open the window. So, everyone quickly opened the windows, which helped dissipate the smoke.”
There was panic until fire department arrived and broke the doors to help the passengers out.
Others said despite the scare, it was still as calm of a situation as it could have been given the circumstances.
“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.”
The NTSB has launched a team to investigate the collision of the two trains.
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