Human error likely caused Manhattan subway crash and derailment, officials say
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Emergency personnel outside the subway station at West 96th Street and Broadway in Manhattan after a train collision and derailment on Jan 4.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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NEW YORK – A train carrying about 300 passengers drove into the path of an out-of-service train amid confusion over which vehicle had the right of way, resulting in a collision between two subway trains in Manhattan on Jan 4,
Human error appeared to have caused the collision which injured 26 people, said the three officials. There were no serious injuries.
Both trains derailed and services were disrupted on some of the busiest transit lines in the city for more than a day.
It was not immediately clear who was at fault. The officials, who requested anonymity as investigations are ongoing, said an error was made by the crew on the out-of-service train; the leader of a transit workers union suggested that the crash was caused by a supervisor.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which operates the subways, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are both looking into the collision.
Ms Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the NTSB, said during a news conference on Jan 5 that 13 specialists are investigating the incident. They will be examining the performance of employees who were working in the trains as well as those in the subway system’s control centre.
“It’s easy to blame humans,” Ms Homendy said when asked if the crash was caused by a person’s mistake. “Human error is always a symptom of a system that needs to be redesigned.”
On Jan 4, just before the afternoon rush hour, a No. 1 train – which travels the length of Manhattan’s West Side – stalled at 79th Street after vandals tripped the train’s emergency brakes, MTA officials said at a news conference.
The stalled train disembarked its passengers, went out of service and was slowly making its way to a storage yard, according to the transit officials with knowledge of the investigation. Other No. 1 trains were forced to reroute.
Near the 96th Street station, the subway’s signal system instructed the out-of-service train to stop at a red light. The green light was given for a rerouted train to go around it on parallel tracks. The out-of-service train continued to inch forward, causing the crash of the slow-moving trains, the officials said.
Four transit workers were aboard the out-of-service train.
One of the officials said that the investigation is focused on whether someone did not follow protocols.
The officials said that there was a miscommunication, but investigators have not yet determined who was at fault.
Addressing reporters on Jan 6, Mr Richard Davis, the president of the Transport Workers Union Local 100, said that people in management were “controlling the train”.
One derailed car from the train that had been carrying passengers and another from the out-of-service train were still stuck in a subway tunnel near 96th Street on Jan 5 as crews worked to get them back on the rails.
The stuck car from the passenger train is in a low-height area, making it difficult to mount it back on the rails, said Mr Janno Lieber, the chair of the MTA. The wheels came off the front car of the out-of-service train, making it difficult to move the vehicle, MTA officials said.
Subway service was suspended on the 1 and 3 lines between Times Square and Harlem, a stretch that includes some of the most congested stations in the heart of the city. There was no service on the 2 line on the West Side. Although MTA officials had hoped to restore service on Jan 5 local time, the agency noted that the suspensions would remain in effect at least through the day.
Extra buses were deployed to carry passengers up and down the West Side. A combined 870,000 passengers ride the 1, 2 and 3 lines on average every weekday.
Subway derailments involving passengers have been rare in recent years. The last one occurred on Sept 20, 2020, when an express train came off the tracks around 14th Street with 100 people on board. Three passengers suffered minor injuries.
On Jan 4, firefighters and MTA workers helped about 300 people evacuate the train involved in the collision, plus another 300 to 400 passengers on a train that was running behind it, after cutting off power in the station. NYTIMES
