34 hurt after subway train derails approaching station

New York: Investigation after two carriages come undone and scrape wall

Thirty-four people have suffered non-life-threatening-injuries after a New York City subway train derailed in Harlem, frightening passengers and resulting in system-wide delays, officials said.

The chairman of New York’s Metropolitan Trans- portation Authority said transit officials are investigating why the train’s emergency brakes went on before the derailment approaching the station at 125th Street and St Nicholas Avenue.

Joe Lhota said there were no initial indications of equipment or track failure before two cars derailed and scraped a wall yesterday morning.

Service on the A,B,C and D lines has been suspended until the investigation is completed.

“We started seeing sparks through the windows. People were falling,” said passenger Susan Pak, of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

She said the A train jerked and began shaking violently as it approached the station.

Two of the eight cars on the train derailed just be- fore 10am local time. Sparks from the skidding train briefly ignited garbage on the track, but there was no serious fire, said Mr Lhota.

“This, to the best of my knowledge, does not look like a failure on the part of equipment, does not look like a failure on the part of the track itself,” he said.

“We need to determine what it is.”

Three other trains were in the tunnel at the time of the derailment, he said. All were evacuated.

Delays were reported throughout the subway system, which has been plagued by problems this year.

“People are terrified,” Riders Alliance executive director John Raskin told NY1 television.

“It’s clear we have an outdated and crumbling public transit system.

“It’s not just a convenience - it’s dangerous.

“If this doesn’t get the attention of Governor (Andrew) Cuomo and state lawmakers, I don’t know what will.”

“We started seeing sparks and people were falling”

Transport worker helps out at the scene in Harlem