By Bill Parry
A Manhattan-bound F train derailed under the streets of Woodside Friday morning, sending four riders to area hospitals with potentially serious injuries, including some with chest pain, a Fire Department official said at the scene. Another 15 straphangers suffered minor injuries.
The eight-car express train derailed around 10:30 a.m. just south of 65th Street and Broadway, with nearly 1,000 riders on board. The train’s operator and conductor were both OK and will be tested, according to MTA Chairman and CEO Tom Prendergast.
“We don’t know how fast the train was going,” Prendergast said. “ That will be part of the investigation.”
Because the train was in between stations, riders were taken off 20 at a time and escorted through the tunnel to an emergency exit. The evacuation was orderly despite initial fear of smoke.
Deputy Assistant Chief James Leonard of the FDNY said only four passengers were hospitalized for what could be significant injuries, while another 15 had minor injuries.
Queens resident Raymond Brown, who was evacuated, said, “There was a little bit of shaking and then it just went off the rails. I’m glad to be off the train, there was a little bit of smoke.”
Leonard said a substantial cloud of dust rather than smoke panicked some people, but firefighters entered each and every car to calm the riders.
Prendergast reported that six of the eight cars had derailed and were still upright and there was substantial damage to the rails.
“We’ll have to rebuild the track before we can resume express service. We’re fortunate it happened on a Friday,” he said, adding that crews would work throughout the weekend to restore full service by Monday.
Prendergrast also said the Queens Boulevard line was built in the 1930s but that the tracks were last replaced in 1982.
The last subway derailment was May 29, 2013, at 125th Street in Harlem, Prendergast said, “We run 8,000 trains a day — the system is very safe.”
Borough President Melinda Katz thanked MTA workers, firefighters, police officers and other first responders and wished speedy recoveries for the 19 injured riders.
Katz also said, “I look forward to reviewing the results of the investigation into this derailment and hope those results lead to safety improvements that will prevent similar accidents. We are fortunate in that recent safety enhancements have already made subway derailments extremely rare, but there is always room for improvement when it comes to safety.”
Leonard said the evacuation took nearly an hour in conditions that were dark, warm and without ventilation. He gave credit to the riders saying, “They maintained calm because they are New Yorkers.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
