NYC Subway Jumps Its Track

Hundreds Of Passengers Evacuated Safely From The Midtown Tunnel

(CBS/AP)  Two Manhattan subway cars derailed Sunday north of a station near Central Park, forcing more than 400 passengers to evacuate the tunnel on a second train, officials said.

The cars on a southbound N train, heading from Astoria, Queens, to Brooklyn, jumped the tracks at 4:23 p.m. 100 feet north of the stop at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, NYC Transit spokesman Charles Seaton said.

The train's 449 passengers were removed from the tunnel on a "rescue train," officials said. One person suffered from anxiety and another person reported a minor injury, but neither required medical treatment, Seaton said.

A tourist from Indiana, Doug Sabotin described the sudden jolt to CBS News affiliate WCBS. "It felt like it stopped abruptly," he said. "I didn't know it derailed. They had us sit while they assessed the situation, and told us to stay calm."

News of the derailment had paramedics swarming two different subway stations - the 57th St. Station, as well as the 5th Ave. Station, where passengers emerged unharmed, with quite a subway story to tell.

"The brakes were pulled and the train derailed," train passenger Isabel Belmont told WCBS. "The passengers stayed calm."

The cause of the derailment is under investigation. Seaton said the train's operator and conductor would receive blood alcohol testing, which is standard procedure following an accident.

N train service in Queens remained suspended in both directions Sunday, while R trains were rerouted.

[nonayabiness]

Glad nobody was hurt.

[irliberal]

Takes more than a little train incident to rattle a New Yorker. 8-) GO NYC!