07-04-1997

Two cars of a southbound A train jumped the tracks and slammed through four support columns, injuring 12 riders in Harlem last night and cutting off service on the A, B and C lines, police said. Dozens of other passengers on the train were shaken up in the 10:09 p.m. crash at West 137th Street and had to be escorted from the debris-filled tunnel by police, fire and emergency medics. "It was an absolute miracle that nobody was killed and more people were not injured," said Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who rushed to the scene. He said the most seriously damaged car which he described as being torn open was unoccupied. The car "smashed against the wall and was crushed" after it went off the tracks, Giuliani said. Many of the riders reported that all seemed to be going smoothly as the train approached the 135th Street station and that the first hint of trouble was a rumble and some smoke. "We had a very serious train crash," said Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, who took command of the rescue effort. More than 160 firefighters from 38 units took part in the rescue, along with dozens of specially trained Emergency Service Unit police and Emergency Medical Services personnel. "The conductor is out of it, and he was delirious, I am told by the firefighters that found him," Von Essen said. Power was shut off between 59th and 207th Streets as rescuers worked on the tracks. A transit spokeswoman said shuttle buses would move stranded passengers. The five most seriously injured riders were taken from the site of the wreck to area hospitals, with non-life-threatening injuries, said Police Officer Olga Mercado. The derailed cars were the last two on the train, said Firefighter Richard Kuzniewski, a department spokesman. Giuliani said the Transit Authority hoped to have full subway service restored sometime today. A transit official said it was not known when the damage will be repaired. The cause of the crash is still not known.

07-05-1997

Investigators are focusing on whether a track-changing switch situated where a subway train car jumped the tracks in Harlem malfunctioned - or whether there was a problem with the train wheels that went over it, a senior transit official said late Friday. Fifteen passengers were injured when Car No. 5282 left the A line tracks late Thursday, ripping in half, in the ninth serious subway wreck since 1990. With three state and federal agencies investigating, Transit Authority senior vice president Joseph Hofmann said the back wheels on the downtown express train flew off the tracks as the train's rear car passed over the switch. "What it looks like to us is the last truck [set of wheels] of the eighth car for some reason didn't make it through the switch," said Hofmann. "When we found the car, it hit the side wall and broke into two separate pieces," he said. Hofmann said investigators had yet to analyze the switch, located in the track bed at the northern end of the St. Nicholas Avenue subway station near 135th Street. Investigators also plan to interview the 125th Street tower operators who control the IND station's mechanical switching system, and the train's operator underwent substance abuse testing at a local hospital immediately after the crash. Hofmann described both steps as routine, indicating investigators were focused on mechanical error as the cause of the accident. "Usually you'd have a pretty good idea what happened just by looking," said Hofmann. "With this one, you don't see anything obvious. For some reason, the truck did not make it over the switch." The eight-car train was traveling at a normal speed, about 25 to 30 mph, when the back car weighing 80,000 pounds flew off its straight course and crashed against a curtain of steel pillars and concrete, transit officials said. The wall separates the express track from a separate spur for work trains, with the switch needed to steer trains between the tracks by way of a portal in the wall. Luckily, no one was riding in the last car, which was sheared diagonally in half upon impact. But the rest of the train whiplashed, jolting unsuspecting passengers from their seats in the front cars. Of the 15 people taken bleeding, bruised and dazed to nearby hospitals, none was injured seriously. Rescue workers were amazed that no one was killed. So were people in the area. "I just heard a big boom," said Al Lomax, 51, who was standing on the street about a block away when the crash occurred. "I thought it was a shotgun or a shootout." The accident took place hours before the much-publicized scrapping of two-fare zones, a change allowing commuters to transfer for free between buses and subways. Instead of touting the benefit, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and other city officials talked of workers' Herculean effort to clear away the twisted steel and wreckage before last night's fireworks extravaganza in Manhattan, which annually draws 1.5 million spectators. Transit officials said the wrecked 75-foot car was built in 1972, part of the R-44 line purchased from the now-defunct St. Louis Car Co., and was reconditioned at least once.

Worker Blamed In A Train Derail

By JAMES RUTENBERG

Daily News Staff Writer

Transit worker who flipped the wrong switch caused the derailment of a southbound A train in Harlem earlier this month, a preliminary investigation has found.

City transit authorities said they have suspended signal maintainer Ariff Roberts without pay. The A train derailed on its way into the 135^th St. station July 3 when Roberts tripped a track switch as the last car was passing over it, said Leroy Spizey, chief of safety for New York City Transit. The front wheels of the car stayed on the proper track, but the rear wheels were diverted to another track. The car flew down both sets of tracks at 35 mph, then hit a dividing wall and split in half. Fourteen people were injured.

Roberts thought he was doing a routine test on a switch for nearby tracks but flipped the wrong mechanism. To avoid future mixups, officials said they will color-code switching mechanisms. Officials of Roberts’ union said he denies responsibility. "He’s saying he did not in any way contribute to the switch being thrown under the train," said John Mirrione, in charge of Transport Workers Union Local 100’s maintenance division.

Authorities said yesterday that a seemingly similar derailment on a southbound No. 2 train in Brooklyn 10 days later was caused by a failed track relay. One of the relay’s many functions is to notify controllers when a train is on the rails. They said the relay failed to register that the No. 2 was still pulling into the President St. station —prompting controllers to flip the track switch for an incoming No. 4 as the last car of the No. 2 passed over it. The back wheels of the last car of the No. 2 train were sent down a different track before the train’s brakes were tripped. Three people were injured.

Investigators acknowledged that the newly installed relay had shown signs of trouble, tripping emergency brakes on the No. 2 and on a train that passed before it. But they said it was initially impossible to know what caused the problem. They blamed it on damage to the relay, possibly during shipping. Officials said they will put indicators on incoming relays to show if they have been dropped or banged so they won’t be installed.

Original Story Date: 072597

Original Story Section: City Central