Authorities from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority say that on Thursday, a subway car carrying about 300 people and an out-of-service train at West 96th Street in Manhattan collided and both trains derailed.
Around 3 p.m., a slow-moving northbound No. 1 train collided with another train carrying four transit employees, injuring twenty-four people, according to M.T.A. officials.
M.T.A. officials said during a press conference on Thursday that there did not seem to be a technical problem that caused the crash.
A No. 1 train at 79th St. stalled when vandals engaged its brakes, according to MTA officials, setting off the incident. There was a train with three hundred passengers moving back to a local track in front of the out-of-service train as it slowly made its way upward. Passenger train operations have been cleared to proceed, according to officials.
The MTA subsidiary that oversees the subway system, New York City Transit, is led by Richard Davey, who stated at a press conference held at the station on Thursday that numerous emergency brake lines on the hacked train were torn. An investigation into what caused the accident has started.
According to Davey, once the station’s electricity was turned off, emergency personnel from the MTA and fire departments had to remove an additional 300–400 people from a train that was following the 300 passengers on the passenger train.
Most of Manhattan saw a suspension of service on the 1, 2, and 3 lines after the disaster. According to MTA social media posts, the northbound 1 train between 42nd and 137th Streets had not yet resumed service by 6:30 p.m.