Transit agency: Human error caused subway train derailment
By DAVID PORTER, Associated Press
Jun 28, 2017 12:37 AM CDT
Emergency service personnel work at the scene of a subway derailment, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. A subway train derailed near a station in Harlem on Tuesday, frightening passengers and resulting in a power outage as people were evacuated from trains along the subway...   (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — A subway train derailment in New York City that injured nearly three dozen people and sparked major delays is being blamed on human error, not a track defect.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials say a preliminary investigation indicates the Tuesday morning derailment in Harlem was caused by "an improperly secured piece of replacement rail" that was stored on the tracks during rail repairs.

The derailment tossed people to the floor and forced hundreds of passengers to evacuate through darkened tunnels.

Officials say crews are inspecting "every inch of rail" to ensure that every replacement part "is properly stored and secured."

The derailment came after a winter and spring marked by mechanical failures, power outages and several episodes in which passengers were trapped on stuck trains for an hour or more.

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