Subway service has been fully restored after Manhattan derailment

Subway service on Manhattan’s Lines 1, 2 and 3 was fully restored Sunday, more than 60 hours after a collision between two trains injured 26 people, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said. a message on social media.

The service disruption began around 3 p.m. Thursday when a train carrying about 300 passengers collided with an out-of-service train near 96th Street on the Upper West Side and both trains derailed, said Richard Davey, president of New York City Transit. a press conference on Friday.

Officials quickly suspended subway service on Lines 1 and 3 between Times Square and Harlem, a route with very busy stations. Train 2 was diverted to Manhattan’s East Side.

Shortly after firefighters evacuated passengers, MTA crews began repairing the subway trains. The out-of-service train had pinned the passenger train and the passenger train had crashed into the ceiling of the subway tunnel, officials said and photos in an MTA social media post. The trains were later moved from the area to a warehouse and the tracks were repaired.

Service disruptions continued Saturday as temperatures dropped and snow showers were followed by slushy rain. Full service was restored around 6 a.m. on Sunday.

Both the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the subways, and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. Human error appears to have caused the collision, according to three transit officials with knowledge of the investigation.

Before the collision, the No. 1 train had been taken out of service at the 79th Street station and the trains behind it were diverted to the express track. The out-of-service train, carrying four workers and no passengers, headed into town to a repair yard. Near the 96th Street station, officials with knowledge of the investigation said, it was given a red light, while the train carrying 300 passengers was given a green signal to go around it on the express track and then reroute to get back there to drive on the local track.

The out-of-service train was still moving slowly forward, leading to the collision, officials said. Some of the people aboard the passenger train were taken to nearby hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

It was not immediately clear who was to blame. Officials said the crew of the out-of-service train made the mistake; the leader of a transit workers union suggested that a regulator’s decision had precipitated the crash.