This information is preliminary and subject to change.
Release Date: 30 Sept. 2026
On September 3, 2026, about 11:36 p.m. local time, a New York City Transit (NYCT) employee working as a flagger was fatally injured by a train on the D Line in Bronx, New York.[1] The employee was part of a flagging team preparing to establish protection for on-track work in a subway tunnel near 161st Street Station. Shortly before the accident, southbound NYCT train 2324 D BPK/STL entered 167th Street Station north of the accident site, where an advance-flagger told the train’s operator that employees were setting up protection ahead. The train then proceeded south on track C1, reaching about 28 mph.[2] One of the flaggers near 161st Street Station saw the approaching train and blew a whistle to alert the rest of the flagging team. The train’s operator saw workers on the track and put the train into emergency a few seconds before the accident.[3] All flaggers in the train’s path, except one, reached a safe location between track C1 and track C3/4, which was not carrying traffic at the time. The employee who was fatally injured was positioned near the bench wall next to track C1 at the time of the alert and did not reach a safe location.[4] The employee was transported to a local hospital and pronounced deceased. The accident occurred in an underground tunnel; visibility conditions were dark, with lighting provided by flashlights and ambient light from the platform. The subway train was equipped with headlights.
All aspects of this accident remain under investigation while the National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause and ways to prevent similar accidents.
Parties to the investigation include:
- the Federal Transit Administration,
- New York State Department of Transportation,
- New York State Public Transportation Safety Board,
- Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and
- Transportation Workers Union.
[1] (a) NYCT is part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. (b) A
flagger is a railroad or transit employee tasked with protecting roadway workers by authorizing train movements through a work zone. On the NYCT subway, flaggers establish protection by setting up warning lights that require trains to stop before the work zone and obtain flagger permission before proceeding.
[2] This speed estimate is based on data from the signal system. The train did not have an event recorder or audio or image recorders other than inward-facing security cameras.
[3] Putting a train into emergency refers to a commanded emergency braking application, which uses all available braking effort to stop a train as quickly as possible.
[4] A bench wall is a thick, elevated concrete ledge built into the side of a tunnel.
