New York City subway accident with 24 people injured

Disruption reverberated through the transit network on the West Side of Manhattan on Friday as service on three subway lines faced ongoing challenges. The predicament unfolded a day earlier when a train, carrying approximately 300 passengers, collided with an out-of-service train in the vicinity of West 96th Street, leading to the derailment of both trains, as outlined by Metropolitan Transportation Authority (M.T.A.) officials.

The incident, transpiring around 3 p.m., involved a northbound No. 1 train traveling at a reduced speed colliding with the second train, housing four transit workers. Despite the scale of the collision, M.T.A. officials reported that none of the 24 injuries sustained were deemed serious.

Restoration efforts for the 1, 2, and 3 subway lines were actively underway on Friday morning, with the M.T.A. acknowledging persisting disruptions on its official website.

During a news conference on Thursday, M.T.A. officials asserted that the crash did not stem from equipment malfunctions. The genesis of the incident traced back to a No. 1 train experiencing a stall at 79th St., triggered by vandals activating its brakes, according to M.T.A. authorities. Subsequently, the incapacitated train was taken out of service and slowly navigating uptown. The collision occurred as the passenger train, given clearance to proceed, was switching back to a local track in proximity to 96th Street.

Richard Davey, the president of New York City Transit, the M.T.A. division overseeing subway operations, divulged during Thursday’s news conference that the vandalized train had multiple emergency brake cords pulled. A comprehensive investigation into the accident’s cause has been initiated by the M.T.A., as confirmed by a spokesperson for the authority.

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