A commuter exits a closed off station after a subway train derailment, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. A subway train derailed near a station in Harlem on Tuesday, frightening passengers and resulting in a power outage as people were evacuated from trains along the subway line. The Fire Department of New York said a handful of people were treated for minor injuries at around 10 a.m. It said there was smoke but no fire. Delays were reported throughout the subway system. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - A subway train derailed Tuesday as it entered a station, tossing people to the floor, forcing hundreds of shaken-up passengers to evacuate through darkened tunnels and delivering another jolt to a transit system plagued by aging equipment and reliability problems.
Nearly three dozen people suffered minor injuries in the derailment, which happened in Harlem just before 10 a.m.
Photos of the train posted on social media showed its metal side deeply scraped and dented from being dragged along the wall of the subway tunnel. Debris, including broken signaling equipment and chunks of concrete, were left in the train's wake.
Passengers on the A train said it suddenly jerked and began shaking violently as it approached the station at 125th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue.
"We started seeing sparks through the windows. People were falling," said passenger Susan Pak, of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Sparks from the skidding train briefly ignited garbage on the track, but there was no serious fire and the train stayed upright, said Joe Lhota, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The cause was under investigation.
Lhota said the emergency braking system on the train triggered, but it was unclear why. He said he didn't know if a passenger had pulled the emergency brake.
"This, to the best of my knowledge, does not look like a failure on the part of equipment, does not look like a failure on the part of the track itself," Lhota said.
The derailment came after a winter and spring marked by mechanical failures, power outages and several episodes in which passengers were trapped on stuck trains for an hour or more. Some state lawmakers demanded that the Legislature take up emergency funding for the system in a special session scheduled for Wednesday.
Jack Cox, a software developer, said he felt a "large thump" and heard and felt the train grinding for as long as 30 seconds.
"During the whole time, it was just like 'What's going on? What's going to happen?' Then it stopped," he said. "I didn't have time to be scared before then, but I looked around and the woman next to me was curled up in some sort of fetal tuck."
Cox said smoke started coming in from one end of the car.
"It wasn't heavy smoke, but it was frightening," he said.
Passengers ended up walking through the darkened cars using their cellphone lights and exiting onto the platform.
Three other trains approaching the station halted in their tracks. Emergency crews shut off track power after derailments to prevent evacuees from being electrocuted.
Julian Robinson said he was stuck on one of them for about an hour before rescuers arrived to escort passengers along the tracks into the station. Pictures and video posted online showed passengers evacuating through darkened subway tunnels.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the derailment "an unacceptable manifestation of the system's current state."
"It is my expectation that with new leadership brought by Joe Lhota, the MTA will address the fundamental issues plaguing the transit system and overhaul the organizational structure of the MTA," the Democratic governor said.
The derailment spoiled what should've been a bright day for the system, coming roughly two hours before the reopening of a subway station at the southern tip of Manhattan that had been closed since it was flooded by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. The South Ferry station on the No. 1 line reopened after $340 million worth of repairs.
Lhota, who was appointed as the MTA's chairman last week with a mandate to get the system back on track, had to skip a planned media tour of the refurbished station to deal with the derailment.
The number of subway delays has tripled in the past five years, to 70,000 per month. In recent months, several high-profile incidents have occurred, including subway trains stuck in tunnels for an hour or more. In April, a power outage backed up trains around the city and closed a key Manhattan station for 12 hours.
Commuter railroads also have had problems. A report this month found rush hour cancellations and delays on the Long Island Rail Road at the highest level in 10 years.
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Associated Press writers Deepti Hajela and Karen Matthews contributed to this report.
This photo provided by Jackie Faherty from her Twitter page shows subway passengers on an A train with the lights out after it halted just shy of the 125th street stop in New York's Harlem neighborhood, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in New York. The New York Police Department says a minor derailment in Harlem caused a power outage that led to evacuations along the subway line. (Jackie Faherty via AP)
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Emergency service personnel work at the scene of a subway derailment, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. A subway train derailed near a station in Harlem on Tuesday, frightening passengers and resulting in a power outage as people were evacuated from trains along the subway line. The Fire Department of New York said a handful of people were treated for minor injuries at around 10 a.m. It said there was smoke but no fire. Delays were reported throughout the subway system. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
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This screen shot from a cell phone video provided by Jonathanâ @ThisIsJCali from his Twitter page shows subway passengers being evacuated, as seen from a D train stuck on the tracks as it was headed to the 125th street station, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in New York. The New York Police Department says a minor derailment in Harlem caused a power outage that led to evacuations along the subway line. (Jonathanâ @ThisIsJCali via AP)
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This photo provided by Jonathanâ @ThisIsJCali from his Twitter page shows subway passengers on a D train stuck on the tracks as it was headed to the 125th street station, before the lights went out in the car, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in New York. The New York Police Department says a minor derailment in Harlem caused a power outage that led to evacuations along the subway line. (Jonathanâ @ThisIsJCali via AP)
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Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota, center, speaks to reporters near the scene of a subway train derailment, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. A subway train derailed near a station in Harlem on Tuesday, frightening passengers and resulting in a power outage as people were evacuated from trains along the subway line. The Fire Department of New York said a handful of people were treated for minor injuries at around 10 a.m. It said there was smoke but no fire. Delays were reported throughout the subway system. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
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Emergency service personnel work at the scene of a subway derailment, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. A subway train derailed near a station in Harlem on Tuesday, frightening passengers and resulting in a power outage as people were evacuated from trains along the subway line. The Fire Department of New York said a handful of people were treated for minor injuries at around 10 a.m. It said there was smoke but no fire. Delays were reported throughout the subway system. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
The Associated Press
Emergency service personnel work at the scene of a subway train derailment, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. A subway train derailed near a station in Harlem on Tuesday, frightening passengers and resulting in a power outage as people were evacuated from trains along the subway line. The Fire Department of New York said a handful of people were treated for minor injuries at around 10 a.m. It said there was smoke but no fire. Delays were reported throughout the subway system. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
The Associated Press
Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota, left, is briefed before speaking to reporters near the scene of a subway train derailment, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. A subway train derailed near a station in Harlem on Tuesday, frightening passengers and resulting in a power outage as people were evacuated from trains along the subway line. The Fire Department of New York said a handful of people were treated for minor injuries at around 10 a.m. It said there was smoke but no fire. Delays were reported throughout the subway system. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
The Associated Press
New York State troopers watch as emergency service personnel work at the scene of a subway derailment, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. A subway train derailed near a station in Harlem on Tuesday, frightening passengers and resulting in a power outage as people were evacuated from trains along the subway line. The Fire Department of New York said a handful of people were treated for minor injuries at around 10 a.m. It said there was smoke but no fire. Delays were reported throughout the subway system. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
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The No. 1 train prepares to leave the South Ferry Station, Tuesday June 27, 2017, in New York. The station reopened Tuesday, nearly five years after it was flooded by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
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MTA workers place a "flood door" decal onto steel doors leading to the No. 1 train South Ferry subway station, Tuesday June 27, 2017, in New York. The station reopened Tuesday, nearly five years after it was flooded by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
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Passengers leave the No. 1 train at the South Ferry Station, Tuesday June 27, 2017, in New York. The station reopened Tuesday, nearly five years after it was flooded by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
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