NEW YORK – A collision between two subway trains in Manhattan on Jan 4 (native time) occurred when a prepare carrying about 300 passengers was pushed into the trail of an out-of-service prepare due to confusion over which car had the appropriate of approach, in response to three transit officers with information of the investigation into the crash.
The collision, which injured 26 folks, precipitated each trains to derail and continued to interrupt service on a few of the busiest transit traces within the metropolis a day later.
Human error appeared to have precipitated the collision, mentioned the officers, who requested anonymity as a result of they have been discussing an lively investigation. It was not instantly clear who was at fault. The officers mentioned an error was made by the crew on the out-of-service prepare; the chief of 1 transit staff union advised that the crash was attributable to a supervisor.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which operates the subways, and the Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) are each wanting into the collision. There have been no severe accidents.
Ms Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the NTSB, mentioned throughout a information convention on Jan 5 that 13 specialists are investigating the incident. They are going to be inspecting the efficiency of staff who have been working within the trains in addition to these within the subway system’s management middle.
“It’s straightforward responsible people,” Ms Homendy mentioned when requested if the crash was attributable to an individual’s mistake. “Human error is at all times a symptom of a system that must be redesigned.”
On Jan 4, simply earlier than the native afternoon rush hour, a No. 1 prepare – which travels the size of Manhattan’s West Aspect – stalled at 79th Avenue after vandals tripped the prepare’s emergency brakes, MTA officers mentioned at a information convention. The stalled prepare disembarked its passengers, went out of service and was slowly making its approach to a storage yard farther uptown, in response to the transit officers with information of the investigation.
A crew of 4 transit staff was aboard the out-of-service prepare, which compelled the rerouting of different No. 1 trains. In response to the MTA officers with information of the investigation, close to the 96th Avenue station, the subway’s sign system instructed the out-of-service prepare to cease at a pink gentle and gave the inexperienced gentle for a rerouted prepare to go round it on parallel tracks, then transfer again in entrance. The out-of-service prepare continued to inch ahead, inflicting the slow-moving crash, the officers mentioned.
One of many officers mentioned that the authority’s investigation is concentrated on whether or not somebody didn’t comply with protocols. The officers mentioned that there was a miscommunication, however investigators haven’t but decided who was at fault.
Addressing reporters on Jan 6, Mr Richard Davis, the president of the Transport Staff Union Native 100, mentioned that folks in administration have been “controlling the prepare.”
One derailed automobile from the prepare that had been carrying the passengers and one other from the out-of-service prepare have been nonetheless caught in a subway tunnel close to 96th Avenue on Jan 5 as crews labored to get them again on the rails.
The caught automobile from the passenger prepare is in a low-height space, making it troublesome to mount it again on the rails, mentioned Mr Janno Lieber, the chair of the MTA. The wheels got here off the entrance automobile of the out-of-service prepare, making it troublesome to maneuver, MTA officers mentioned Jan 5.
Subway service was suspended on the 1 and three traces between Occasions Sq. and Harlem, a stretch that features a few of the most congested stations within the coronary heart of the town. There was no service on the two line on the West Aspect. Though MTA officers had hoped to revive service Jan 5, the company famous that the suspensions would stay in impact not less than by way of the day. Additional buses have been deployed to hold passengers up and down the West Aspect. A mixed 870,000 passengers trip the 1, 2 and three traces on a mean weekday.
Subway derailments involving passengers have been uncommon lately. The final one occurred Sept 20, 2020, when an categorical prepare got here off the tracks round 14th Avenue with 100 folks on board. Three passengers suffered minor accidents.
On Jan 4, firefighters and MTA staff helped roughly 300 folks evacuate the prepare carrying passengers concerned within the collision, plus one other 300 to 400 passengers on a prepare that was working behind it, after slicing off energy within the station. NYTIMES
