Full service on the 1, 2 and 3 lines resumed early Sunday morning, days after two trains derailed on the Upper West Side, officials said.
Two trains have been removed from the 96th Street subway tunnel and repairs were made to the tunnel's tracks and the third rail, Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a press release late Saturday night. A safety inspection of the tunnel was also completed.
“MTA crews have worked diligently through two nights and days to secure the 96 Street tunnel's infrastructure for safe use,” Hochul said in the press release.
During a press conference in Albany Sunday morning, Hochul added that there will be full service for the Monday morning commute.
Subway riders say they are happy full service was restored.
“Getting to work was really difficult. I had to take a crosstown bus to [Manhattan’s east side] to get downtown, so I am thrilled that service has been restored. Really happy, really happy,” Ruby Krajick, a longtime Upper West Side resident, told NY1 Sunday morning.
Luis Tavarez, who rides the subway regularly, says he feels “amazing” now that full service is back.
“Walking all the way to the C train, it was a pain. So having this open already, just opens up everything — work, community, to home,” Tavarez said.
Tavarez is not afraid to use the city’s subway system after the incident, but thinks the Metropolitan Transportation Authority needs to do better.
“They just have to put their head into the game again, make sure everybody is going through the training,” Tavarez said.
Two 1 trains bumped into each other and derailed near the 96th Street station Thursday afternoon, the National Transportation Safety Board, an independent U.S. government agency that investigates public transportation accidents, said at a press conference Friday afternoon.
The agency said that before the derailment, an "unruly passenger" pulled the emergency brakes on one of the two trains that later derailed. The train stopped and crews worked to reset the brakes.
When the brakes on the third of the train's 10 cars could not be restored, power was shut off to the first five cars of the train, and crews were instructed to release the passengers at the 79th Street station and move the train to the 240th Street rail yard in the Bronx, according to the agency.
"At this point, there are three people on the train, three crew members," Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at the Friday press conference. "The front five cars have no brakes, no power. They're essentially rolling stock. But the back five cars are operational. One crew member began pushing the whole train, operating from the sixth car, while the other two operated as flaggers, eyes and ears, from the front."
After passing through various signals, the train struck another train carrying hundreds of passengers at a crossover and both trains derailed, the agency said. The reason for the collision is still under investigation.
Approximately 25 people suffered minor injuries during Thursday's derailment, but nobody was seriously injured, according to officials. The injured people were inspected at the scene of the derailment and taken to nearby hospitals.