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[UPDATES] A Train Derails At 14th Street, Northbound Subway Service Suspended Along 8th Ave
By
Jen Chung
and
John Del Signore
Published Sep 20, 2020
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By
Jen Chung
and
John Del Signore
Published Sep 20, 2020
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[See updates at bottom] An uptown A train derailed inside the 14th Street/8th Avenue subway station in Manhattan this morning. An MTA spokesperson confirmed that one of the train's wheels "went off the track" around 8:15 a.m.
According to the MTA, the train hit some debris in the trackbed as it pulled into the station, causing the derailment and cutting power to all four tracks. All passengers were safely evacuated, the MTA said in a statement.
The train "hit a few poles," according to a statement from the FDNY. Approximately 30 people were evacuated from the train, with one person sustaining minor injuries, the FDNY said.
Actor-writer David Lavine said he arrived in the station shortly after 8:15 a.m., soon after the derailment. There was smoke in the station's mezzanine level, but not enough for Lavine to be alarmed.
"I thought it could have been track work," Lavine said. After descending to the downtown platform, Lavine said he saw the damaged train on the uptown tracks. According to Lavine, the MTA workers at the scene "seemed calm."
As of 9:15 a.m., the MTA said all uptown A, C, D, E, and F trains were being rerouted. "There is no northbound service along 8 Av from Canal St to 59 St-Columbus Circle and extremely limited service in uptown Manhattan and the Bronx," the MTA said. C train service is currently suspended in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The MTA suggesting using "the numbered lines and N/Q lines as an alternative."
Subway train derailments are relatively rare in NYC but do happen. The most recent occurred in 2019, when an F train partially derailed in Queens (no one was hurt). Two years before that, an A train derailed in Harlem, injuring multiple straphangers.
Update 10:32 a.m.: An NYPD spokesperson says an unnamed 30-year-old man has been taken into custody by police, who are investigating whether he caused the derailment. The spokesperson had no further details, but police sources tell the Daily News that "a saboteur clamped wooden planks onto the roadbed." He was reportedly subdued by good Samaritans who "held him at the station until cops took him into custody." The News' sources added that the man was "laughing at his accomplishment."
NYC Transit Chief Customer Officer confirmed the derailment allegation on Twitter:
Update 2:32 p.m.: The derailment "appears to be an act of vandalism," according to a statement sent Sunday afternoon by New York City Transit Interim President Sarah Feinberg.
“As the train was coming to a stop in the station after striking the debris, the train's first car scraped four columns that separate the northbound express track from the southbound express track," Feinberg said. "The 134 passengers on board were safely evacuated from the train" through a side-by-side transfer to a local train that delivered them to 34th Street.
MTA workers are spending the day inspecting the tunnel structure and damage to the track, and Feinberg says crews will work "around the clock" to "rerail" the train and make necessary repairs. Trains will run on the local track from Canal St to 59th St-Columbus Circle and will bypass 14 St in both directions as this work proceeds. It's currently "unclear whether express service will be available for the Monday morning rush."
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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