NYC Train Derailment: 34 Injured As Train Smashes Into Tunnel Wall

HARLEM, NY — An A train derailed at 125th and St. Nicholas Avenue Tuesday morning, slamming into a tunnel wall and leaving 34 commuters injured, officials said. Dozens more had to evacuate, walking through the darkness to the nearest station.

At least three other trains were stuck in between stations and also had to be evacuated, according to the MTA.

The agency's head said two cars left the track when an emergency brake was suddenly activated. It wasn't known what caused the brake to be turned on.

“The emergency brakes automatically went on. The train bucked forward, it bucked backwards, and in the process of doing that, there are eight cars on this train, two of the cars derailed," MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota said, as reported by DNAinfo.

" They scraped the side of the walls. The brakes went into emergency. We need to determine why they went into emergency ... until the train is removed, we really don’t know the full extent of what’s there. We’ll be able to know that over the next couple of hours."

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The FDNY was alerted to the derailment, which affected a southbound train just before it pulled into the 125th Street station, at 9:40 a.m.

All injuries were reported to be non-life threatening. At least six patients were taken to the hospital and one person was treated at the scene.

The accident left major delays and service changes throughout the subway system.

Here's How Your Commute Is Affected

Photos posted by commuters showed people walking through a dark subway tunnel.(Stay up to date with news from your neighborhood by signing up for Patch's free newsletters.)

One commuter posted on Twitter that he saw a burning ember and lots of smoke.

The NYC Mayor's Office said on Twitter that Mayor Bill de Blasio has been briefed on the derailment and is monitoring the situation.

Videos showed passengers leaving a dark train underground and exiting at the 125th Street station.

Patch will update this breaking news story.

All photos by @nrik_nyc via Twitter, used with permission