NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) — A New York City subway derailment earlier this month was caused by a flagger losing radio communication with a transit system supervisor, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
Two trains collided on Jan. 4 disrupting subway service to Manhattan’s Upper West Side. About 22 passengers and three crew members suffered minor injuries. The subways are operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the biggest public transportation provider in the US.
“The flagger said he lost radio communications with the transit system supervisor near 96th Street Station,” the report released Thursday said. “The transit system supervisor did not receive the flagger’s instruction to stop, the train passed by a signal requiring a stop at the end of the 96th Street Station platform, and the collision occurred.”
The NTSB said in the report the investigation is ongoing, noting that the two trains involved in the crash did not have event recorders or cameras. It also said it will review subway operating procedures.
As the MTA upgrades its rail cars, those new trains will be outfitted with event recorders and cameras, Rich Davey, head of the MTA’s subway and bus fleets, said Thursday during a press conference after the report was released. The MTA agrees with the report’s findings and continues to work with the safety board to improve its operations, Davey said.
“We’re gonna look at everything, not only the individual actors, but are there processes or procedures that we could improve to make sure this doesn’t happen again?” Davey said during the press conference.
Before the collision, “an unruly passenger” activated an emergency brake on a northbound 1 train, according the NTSB. The train operator and rail car inspector were unable to reset the emergency brake and headed to the 79th Street Station where it disembarked passengers.
The inspector cut out the brakes on the first five cars of the train in order to move it to a rail yard for repairs. As it was heading northbound, it overran a red signal at the 96th Street Station and hit a northbound 1 train that was carrying about 200 passengers and was switching from the express track to the local track. A total of five rail cars were derailed, including three holding passengers.