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.
Police officers from The New York City Police Department (NYPD) warn subway riders to watch their valuables at Times Square subway station as they evacuate the areas, in Manhattan, New York on Thursday, January 4, 2024. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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.
“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.
Emergency response team member work after at least 24 people were hurt and hundreds were evacuated after two subway trains collided on the Upper West Side, New York City, United States on January 4, 2024. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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.