Subway Maintenance Train Fire Disrupts Astor Place Station

Early Tuesday morning a four-car vacuum maintenance train caught fire on the express tracks at Astor Place station in Manhattan’s East Village. The blaze filled the station and surrounding streets with heavy smoke, prompting an evacuation of passengers from a northbound train that arrived while the fire was still burning.

WPIX 11

Firefighters from the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) and emergency medical personnel responded at approximately 2:16 a.m. A total of fourteen people were injured: eight Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) workers and six firefighters, with most injuries classified as minor and two described as moderate but non-life-threatening. FDNY crews battled the fire until it was under control around 5:30 a.m.

New York Times

The incident forced a temporary suspension of the 4, 5, and 6 lines on the Lexington Avenue corridor between Grand Central-42nd Street and Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall. Service on the affected lines resumed with delays by the morning commute, with the 4 and 6 lines back in operation by roughly 6:50 a.m. and the 5 line restored shortly thereafter.

New York Times

He noted that the train’s cleaning function may have contributed to the ignition. The MTA issued alerts warning commuters of service interruptions before the morning rush and confirmed that the damaged train would be removed and the tracks reopened after a thorough investigation.

New York Times

“We seem to have a little bit of a stubborn fire in one particular filter bay. This is the train that actually cleans the tracks. It pulls up the oil and debris from the tracks. We think that might have possibly been one of the areas where the ignition occurred,” — Tom Currao, FDNY assistant chief — Tom Currao, FDNY assistant chief

ABC7 New York