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Update, 2 p.m.: Four hours after the derailment at the 125th St station in Harlem occurred, more details about the incident itself are coming to light. According to the New York Times, two of the train cars on a southbound A train derailed and hit a wall in a tunnel. As a result, 34 people suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation.
As to the cause of the derailment, that’s still unclear. MTA chairman Joe Lhota said that an emergency brake was pulled, but the agency is still investigating why that happened. But an MTA worker told the Times that the extent of the damage (“about 200 feet of track and multiple signals damaged and mounds of concrete shorn from the walls”) could leave the A train out of service for the remainder of the day.
As of this writing, neither Governor Andrew Cuomo (who, you’ll recall, controls the subway) nor Mayor Bill de Blasio has issued a statement on the derailment, other than a tweet from the Mayor’s office noting that De Blasio was briefed on the situation.
Update, 11:53 a.m.: MTA chairman Joe Lhota provided an update on the incident in Harlem. According to Lhota, there were minor injuries as a result of the derailment (the FDNY is saying 17, according to NY1), and though a cause for the incident has yet to be determined, it appears that the train went into emergency braking.
BREAKING: We have to take the train that has derailed off so we can see what went wrong, says #MTA chairman Joe Lhota.
— Fox5NY (@fox5ny) June 27, 2017
Update, 11:39 a.m.: According to the MTA, three stalled trains have been evacuated as a result of this morning’s derailment:
UPDATE: 1 C train and 1 D train between stations have been evacuated by MTA and emergency personnel. A third train is being evacuated.
— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) June 27, 2017
Update, 11:18 a.m.: There are now service disruptions on the A, B, C, D, E, F, and M trains as a result of this morning’s derailment. The MTA is updating is site with service changes regularly.
Looks like it’s going to be another bad day on the New York City subway: Major service disruptions have been reported on the A, B, C, and D lines after a subway train derailed near the 125th Street station in Harlem.
Multiple outlets, including Gothamist and NY1, have reported that two cars on the A line derailed just before 10 a.m., and as a result, service on those four lines has been severely impacted: As of 10:45 a.m., A, B, and C trains are not running in either direction, and D trains have been suspended between Bryant Park and Yankee Stadium.
The MTA has been tweeting about the incident from its @NYCTSubway account, and says that “no major injuries” were reported.
Emergency responders are on the scene b/t 125 St & 59 St to move the train safety. Do not get off trains. Wait for directions from crews.
— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) June 27, 2017
According to Gothamist, however, three people were injured in the derailment, and the train was evacuated after the incident occurred. They also spoke with a commuter who was on the train that derailed, who provided this account of the incident:
"It was really dark, tons of smoke and dust, and white chunky things. There was a lot of distortion on the floor. The metal was pushed in, and either the door was jammed... or it was totally pulled off, like, opened like a book."
Other straphangers who were on the train where the derailment occurred have tweeted similar stories:
Train derailment near 125 A train. Huge bang, sparks and smoke. We were stuck underground for a while but it seems nobody was hurt. pic.twitter.com/aXdUFJhlNS
— Gabriela C. Martinez (@gcmarts) June 27, 2017
1/My commute today #MTA #ATrain pic.twitter.com/j7twJ2jugm
— Marcøs (@cutdekProd) June 27, 2017
The impact of the train hitting the wall as scene in these photos by witness Kelly Kopp. pic.twitter.com/F69lEmUKG8
— Myles Miller (@MylesMill) June 27, 2017
Per reports, the MTA will still open the South Ferry 1 station today, though a scheduled presser and walk-through at the Lower Manhattan stop is now canceled.
We’ll continue to update this story as more information becomes available.
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