Dive Brief:
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A Metropolitan Transit Authority construction contractor working outdoors near a Queens subway station accidentally penetrated a subway wall with a 10-inch drill bit last week and scraped the roof of a moving train.
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The drill bit did not puncture the train, and none of the 800 commuters aboard were injured. Some of the train’s windows reportedly broke, however.
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“That’s a near miss,” an MTA supervisor told local reporters. “Of course we were concerned.”
Dive Insight:
The contractor was working on a commuter rail expansion to connect the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal. Accidents are relatively rare on the NYC subway, with suicide is the leading cause of death.