A Q train just out of Brighton Beach station derailed at the peak of rush hour on Friday morning, stalling traffic on the line and leaving one straphanger with minor injuries.
The second-to-last car of the Q train heading toward the Ocean Parkway stop jumped the rails at 8:55 am, leaving 135 passengers stranded on the elevated track until an “incident train” came to retrieve them, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s interim executive director Ronnie Hakim, who spoke at a press conference following the incident.
All passengers were able to board the incident train without assistance, and were let off at the Brighton Beach station, where busses waited to pick them up, according to Hakim.
One woman suffered minor injuries due to the derailment, and was taken to Lutheran Medical Center for treatment, according to a spokesman for the fire department.
An A train derailment that occurred last month in Harlem required hundreds of commuters to evacuate into the tunnel and sent more than 30 people to the hospital.
Borough President Adams said the derailment was indicative of greater problems facing the city’s ailing transit system, and called for the state to take the lead in modernizing the subway.
“This morning’s MTA Q train derailment at the Brighton Beach subway station should not be shrugged off as just another incident. It is indicative of a creaking mass transit system that needs urgent upgrades to fit the needs of a 21st-century city,” Adams said. “There’s no reason why the Empire State cannot be a leader on this issue.”
Hakim apologized on behalf of the transit authority, and praised passengers for keeping their cool throughout their ordeal.
“Obviously we are sorry this occurred this morning,” Hakim said. “The good news is that the crew says the customers were extremely cooperative. They listened to directions, and followed directions, and they safely evacuated the train.”
