The heart of New York’s subway system ground to a halt Thursday afternoon when two trains collided at low speed, leaving 24 injured and travel chaos which continued across the Upper West Side into Friday morning.
Major service disruptions through Manhattan followed during the afternoon rush hour as dozens of police and fire vehicles swarmed the area near 96th Street to help hundreds of affected passengers evacuate.
At the same time travelers rushed to the streets above and sought alternative routes as three subway lines were heavily disrupted, the New York Times reports.
Ian Swords, an emergency medical services commander at the scene, confirmed the area of the collision is located in the heart of Manhattan’s plush Upper West Side neighborhood.
“At approximately 1500 hours (2000 GMT), our units were notified of two trains colliding,” said fire department commander Mike Meyers.
#BREAKING #USA #NEWYORK #NY
— LW World News (@LoveWorld_Peopl) January 4, 2024
🔴 NEW YORK :#VIDEO COLLISION OF TWO SUBWAY TRAINS NEAR BROADWAY ON THE UPPER WEST SIDE OF MANHATTAN!
All passengers evacuated from the affected trains.
No injuries reported.#Ultimahora #Manhattan #Broadway #Accident #Accidente pic.twitter.com/TdMOTfqPIo
Two subway trains collided in Manhattan, New York. pic.twitter.com/niYLoLTmTe
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) January 5, 2024
“There is a major disruption to… service while emergency teams assist passengers and conduct an investigation after a train derailed near 96th Street,” said the New York City subway on X, formerly Twitter.
Work to restore service on the 1, 2 and 3 lines continued Friday morning, with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) saying on its website that disruptions remained.
Service would be partially suspended, the agency said, through at least the morning rush hours with no trains running on those lines on the Upper West Side.
New York City subway services remained partially suspended at many Manhattan stations through Friday morning rush hour commute according to the MTA.
