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Yesterday, an S shuttle train that was running from Times Square to Grand Central derailed when it ran into a bumper at the end of the track. Authorities are unsure whether the conductor "had fallen asleep, fainted or otherwise lost consciousness." The accident occured at 5AM, and a few people were taken to hospitals for injuries, and the police realized that they had warrants out for two of the men! The men were arrested, and while the police didn't say what the warrants were for, they are investigating whether the men were going to file a false injury claim. This makes Gothamist realize that the karma gods are definitely out there.
The NY Times has an interesting explanation of this accident, adding that if the train had crashed into the concrete bumper at a higher speed, the train could have "pushed the front car of the train upward, possibly striking the metal beams above the tracks." The media says there were only minor delays yesterday, but with one of those shuttles out, Gothamist knows it must have been a bitch to get to work because those cars are packed with people trying to get to the East Side from the West Side. And remember last December's F train derailment and fires? And there was a big subway derailment in 2000 on the B train that had about 60+ injuries. Also: Abandoned Stations has an interesting look at a proposed platform at Grand Central.
Photo from Transit Pics
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You have to be a pretty bad engineer (conductors control the doors not the train, that's the engineers) to have an accident on the S line. One Stop in either direction? A trained monkey could probably run it.
And to be technically accurate, the NYCTA calls their engineers, Motormen (even when they are women).
Trivia: The Shuttle is so simple that the MTA actually DID automate it - back in the 1960s. Things went back to manual after the automated control room caught fire. The Transit Workers Union was implicated, but never proven, to have instigated arson.
Please, PLEASE tell me you didn't just call it the "S Train". Please at least pretend to be from New York, where it's called the Shuttle.
Next you'll start calling the 7th Ave IRT the "red line".