New York Post By Georgett Roberts, Tina Moore, Joe Marino, David Meyer and Tamar Lapin
New York’s transit system was thrown into chaos when a Manhattan subway train flew off the rails on Sunday morning — after an unhinged vandal tossed chunks of metal onto the tracks, officials and sources said.
The uptown A train carrying 135 passengers was pulling into 14th Street and 8th Avenue around 8:20 a.m. when it hit debris, forcing four wheels off the track, said Frank Jezycki, the MTA’s acting senior vice president for subways.
Meanwhile, the train sideswiped at least 10 steel beams in the middle of the tracks as it screeched to a halt, peeling back a huge chunk of metal from the front and left side of the cars, according to sources and the incident report.
Some 180 feet of the third rail were torn off during the derailment, the report said.
The derailment caused power to be shut down on the A line from Canal Street to 34th Street, where another uptown train carrying 125 passengers was stranded and had to be evacuated, according to officials and a preliminary incident report from the MTA obtained by The Post.
“We’ve ruled out that this was any malfunction of our equipment or any inappropriate action of our crews,” MTA Chief Safety Officer Pat Warren said.
“What it appears to be is some form of vandalism, something that was put on the track.”
A 30-year-old man, who is believed to be homeless and mentally ill, is being eyed as a potential suspect and was taken in for questioning, police sources said.
A good Samaritan saw the subway saboteur throw metal ties, also known as D plates, onto the track and went down to get them — but the maniac picked them up and hurled them back in just as a train was pulling into the station and being told to proceed with caution, sources said.
The plates landed on the side of the track, according to sources.
The deranged man found the plates among construction materials at the station, police sources said. MTA workers have been warned not to leave the items close to tracks or near where riders could get a hold of them.
Straphangers held the man until cops arrived.
“He was apprehended by the customers and he is now in custody,” one MTA worker told The Post.
First responders were able to evacuate all passengers safely. Three people reported minor injuries: one was taken to Bellevue Hospital while the other two were evaluated at the scene, the FDNY said.
The incident caused “extensive delays” across the system, according to Sarah Feinberg, the interim president of New York City Transit. At least 56 trains were canceled and 28 trains delayed, the MTA’s report said.
No charges were immediately announced against the suspected debris-tosser, who is known to cops as someone who “commits serial criminal mischief in the subway,”one source said. He also has a slew of arrests outside the transit system, sources said.
The man was previously arrested Sept. 5 on charges of criminal mischief for allegedly hurling a metal bench through a bus window on 8th Avenue and 22nd street, according to sources and records. He was released without bail in that case.
Following Sunday’s incident, all A trains in Manhattan were initially stopped south of 14th, while northbound ones between Canal St and 59 St- Columbus Circle were suspended, with a bus service brought in to help stranded commuters.
Hours later, the MTA warned that the “incident is severely impacting A, C, D, E, and F train service,” with the “best travel alternatives are the numbered lines or the N/Q trains.”
“We aim for a normal rush hour for tomorrow morning — that is our goal,” Jezycki said.
“However, we do have a significant amount of work ahead of us which can only commence once the police investigation concludes,” he warned.
Additional reporting by Lee Brown
