Subway derailment on the F train line in Brooklyn

New York — Emergency responders were at the scene of a subway derailment in Brooklyn Wednesday afternoon.

The transit authority said the accident occurred at approximately 12:30 p.m. on the F train line at the West 8th Street station in Coney Island.

The agency said that all 37 passengers on the train, including three crew members, were safely evacuated from the elevated tracks, and no one was injured.

Passenger Elissa Giles said: “It was loud, like a jolt, or like someone pushing you, pushing you, but we were sitting. Thank God we weren't standing or it wasn't crowded.”

Giles was inside the F train, stuck on the elevated track between the West 8th Street and Neptune stations, for about an hour.

“We had to walk across a plank to get to the rescue train, which is why we ended up here,” Giles said.

Below, on the ground, construction workers and people who work and live in the area watched in amazement.

A witness named Freddy said: “The train was coming. All you heard was an explosion, and when you looked at that train it hit it, he jumped. Everyone was screaming.”

“Two rescue vehicles arrived at the train on both sides and evacuated people from the north end,” New York Defense Forces Chief Mike Mandela said.

The MTA says the elevated tracks were last inspected about two months ago and that the derailed train was relatively new. Photos obtained by CBS New York show the derailed train and distorted tracks.

“It appears that there may have been a problem with the track,” New York City Transportation Authority Chairman Richard Davey said.

This is the second derailment in the city in less than a week. last Thursday, There was a subway derailment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, involving one train carrying 300 passengers. About 25 were slightly injured.

The NTSB is still investigating.

Unlike the first train, the MTA says the F train that derailed Wednesday had a data recorder on board, so they can better assess what went wrong.

“From the collision last week and the derailment today, they don't appear to be connected at all,” Davey said. “Derailments do happen. They shouldn't, but they do happen from time to time…but customers should feel safe getting service.”

However, passengers are still concerned.

“I thought it would be worse. Thank God, lucky,” Freddie said.

Watch Jennifer Bisram's report

“Right now, there are safety issues going on throughout the subway system, so I think they need to go back to the drawing board, they need to reevaluate maintenance, and they probably need more train repairs,” Charlton D'Souza said. , President of United Passenger Company.

The cause of the train derailment on Wednesday is still under investigation. Robert Baswell, a civil engineer at City College, told CBS New York's Dana Tyler that there are several possible reasons for a derailment on an elevated track.

“There's something in the tracks. The tracks might be dislodged, or the track might be broken. It could be weather or it's dislodged. It could be a bad wheel on the car, the wheel might have come off,” Baswell said. “It may have been because the train operator suddenly stopped or started suddenly that caused some of the cars to collide with each other.”

While the MTA worked to restore the tracks and remove the disabled train on Wednesday, much of the F Line remained paralyzed in South Brooklyn during the evening commute. Although the MTA brought in shuttle buses to fill in the gaps, it added an extra half hour to Kardon-Stolzman's trip home.

“There were no signs or anything, no instructions. It was very confusing and very frustrating,” he said.

The NTSB is not investigating Wednesday's train derailment and is still working on its preliminary report on the first train accident.

The MTA says its goal is to fully restore F Line service by Thursday morning.

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