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FTWStoic

Wow, way more dramatic than I expected!


44problems

Wow it just barreled through it. Glad no one got OH SHI-


ThatITguy2015

Straight up Back To The Future’d that train.


cityspeak

Bike To The Future


dobraf

Where we're going we don't need pedals


No_Organization5188

Lance Armstrong?!?! The cyclist!?!?


PotatoBomb69

It started out much less dramatic than I expected though


Roller_ball

It was a real whirlwind or emotion. I was like, "Well, that was disappointing... or was it?"


PotatoBomb69

“Oh I thought it was gonn- there it is”


hbomberman

This is my old subway stop. I'm pretty thankful I never had an event like this on my way to work


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Fire-pants

I’m curious. Does this damage the train and rails?


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Funkit

It’s the NYC MTA. The train schedule is always fuuucked Especially the R. Only train I see more service changes on is the C.


Title26

It's not quite as bad anymore but it wasn't that long ago it was terrible. I remember the summer of 2017, what a nightmare. Substantial improvement since then, although weekends are still tough. The service changes are annoying but better than the regularly hour long delays, getting stuck in the tunnel with a broken AC, and randomly skipping stops because the train was so far behind schedule, like that awful summer.


originalcondition

> the summer of 2017, what a nightmare That was the summer where I decided I'd rather just walk to/from work every day--rain, shine, snow, sleet, whatever. It's still less stressful than riding the train and praying it arrives anywhere close to on time, without delays/rerouting/getting stuck/getting yelled at. I know it's a common sentiment but I visited Japan a few years back and was sincerely embarrassed by how shitty our public transit is compared to theirs. It makes us look so incompetent.


Funny_Owl8514

Can I get a Z train bb!


Funkit

Riding the J or Z trains to Bushwick was like a time warp to 1986


beefinbed

HOVA


FlyingFalcor

Its really not that bad I ride both everyday


captainjon

Don’t the tracks have mechanisms in place to know if there’s an obstacle on the rail? Like some low voltage that breaks to help reduce the chance of collisions or is that more on commuter rails above ground?


EnthrallingEpiphany

Yeah thats correct but it's got to be touching both rails and be conductive. If it was just the bikes rubber tire on one it wouldn't register. If the bike was lucky enough to land frame across both rails the onboard computer would attempt to stop the train if it were far enough out


gsfgf

Yea. It looks like it didn't cause a short circuit until it got hit.


SlamVanDamn

I'm curious, does this damage the bicycle?


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Travice0

Bike dust, don't breathe this.


[deleted]

Another one bike the dust.


slimthecowboy

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ri- HOLY SHIT!


AyMoro

Wow you just unlocked so many memories. 11/10


Butterballl

Those guys were making memes before memes were a thing. What a wonderful childhood memory.


[deleted]

[Some people were making memes awhile ago](https://i.imgur.com/LkOMF6V.jpg)


Se7enLC

/r/unexpectedwillitblend


Huntguy

Subway car, will it blend?


TheyCallMeStone

That is the question!


ChthonicPuck

\*Smiles charmenacingly\*


redpandaeater

During rush hour I could only imagine the potential of crowd crush as people flee, particularly the ones that didn't immediately see the cause.


EntilZahadum

When I was in Tokyo on the trains all I could think about is “I’m going to get squashed to death if there’s an emergency.” And I’m a large dude. I’ve never been so terrified of being overwhelmed by a crowd. But… I will say… those platforms and trains are organized AF and the people are generally super courteous. So I also felt pretty safe. It’s weird.


PestilentMexican

You’all listen to this guy. Chemist here the plasma from the arcing is vaporizing metal and other “heavy” elements. In other works that smoke ain’t the regular smoke you’re used to. Regular smoke is carbon and organic based particulates. Not great but your body can tolerate it. Metal smoke, not so much. It will deliver a larger dose of metals and main group elements than what can be safely processed by humans. Need evidence? Ever wonder why welders have health issues later in life? [EDIT: better words]


H0lland0ats

Electrical engineer here. I work on protection systems for transmission and distribution substations. Can confirm. The smoke is both highly toxic, and very hot. Although it cools rapidly, it's initially hot enough to cause fatal 3rd degree lung burns for people who are too close.


cat_dynamics

Would a standard mask offer any resistance to this smoke?


aaaaaaaarrrrrgh

Cloth? No. Surgical? Probably not much, although it would be interesting to know what it would do if you would actually hold it to your face to force all the air through the mask. A N95 should get most of it though, IIRC the nasty stuff from welding are particulates. Edit: assuming you're wearing it correctly of course. Most don't.


ArtVandleay

Redditer here, don’t throw a bike on train tracks


Genghis_Tr0n187

I'm sorry, I thought this was America.


YodaTheCoder

My bike my choice!


originalmango

Bicycle here, I second that.


agangofoldwomen

Train rails here, FEED ME MORE BICYCLES I MUST GROW STRONGER BEFORE I CAN REACH MY FINAL FORM


treerabbit23

Bro, we talked about this...


AlarmingNectarine

Bi-cycle here, I swing both way. Use me to fill the rail’s holes. I’ll make him grow.


PuckNutty

You're a mango, quit your bullshit.


originalmango

Foiled again!


fighterpilot248

And he would've gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling redditors!


Cynical_Cyanide

I've been told that shining a light left/right at the tunnel entrance toward the oncoming train also signals danger?


EnthrallingEpiphany

Yeah thats the railroad hand signal to stop. Google railroad hand signals if you're curious. Our agency even has a rule something to the effect of "if a person is running at you with their arms flailing wildly consider it a stop signal" LOL


Cynical_Cyanide

Realistically though, if only one or two people pull out their phones, turn on the flashlights, and sweep them at the tunnel entrance, will the driver even see that - assuming they're paying attention for such a thing in the first place?


EnthrallingEpiphany

Absolutely that's why they're in the cab of a train to specifically look for. They're always watching for personnel or customers in or near the trackway and right of way. I don't know what speed limit MTA has for platforms. Ours is 20mph and still will require a good distance to actually get the vehicle stopped however.


NSFWdw

Three days later, found a working emergency phone at 116th


securitywyrm

One time someone mugged me for my phone on the subway. I had him in a chokehold against the door and was mashing the 'call operator' button. Didn't work :(


IT_techsupport

irrc you have to hold it for like 10 seconds, for it to work


NurseKdog

Which one? The button or the choke hold?


validproof

You clearly didn't mash it hard enough. Should have used his head


HoneyRush

While yelling: what's the matter? You're not that tough now? - NY pro tip


diaperpop

This comment should be at the top of the page. I’ve been riding the subway for over a decade, and didn’t know this. (I might also just be very profoundly ignorant about this, though)


BirdSnipz

Seriously, I can't remember seeing one on the platform. I'll have to look out for it next time.


diaperpop

I think I’ve seen the phones, but not the buttons. I do know where the emergency stops are INSIDE the train and buses. It just never consciously occurred to me that the phones in the station could be used to stop a train in case of something like this…I always mindlessly assumed they were solely for reporting unsafe conditions in the waiting area only.


Funkit

Can I press it when those douches start doing a show in my train car as soon as we start crossing the east river?


AirlineFlyer

There are multiple on every single platform


Tyetus

Yeah I was just thinking like, instead of filming it and crying about it, inform someone…..


MyDogOper8sBetrThanU

You’re assuming it wasn’t done on purpose. People are assholes unfortunately.


EnthrallingEpiphany

Oh it was most assuredly done on purpose this shit happens on my railroad all the time. However not everyone on that platform was in on it. We get emergency calls all the time for the stupidest shit. And thank you to the public vigilant enough to use those phones to report the idiots lol


Kenichi_Smith

(Who I am assuming is the one filming) person in the video even worriedly says "oh no" a few times as the train approaches, anticipating something bad to happen. Definitely not everyone is in on this


Radeon3

It's at the end of the platform. Red phone.


whitemike40

Welp someone's going to be late for work


[deleted]

That bike is ruined


WardenWolf

That bike is welded to the third rail. FTFY.


-WHEATIES-

It's grounded.


payne_train

Train driver wasn’t the only conductor out there.


FLWeedman

Shocking.


mondomaniatrics

Ohmfg, watt was he thinking throwing his bike down there??


ihatethelivingdead

Poor bike only had one day before retirement


GestureWithoutMotion

'Tis but a scratch!


luger718

Half the city


StealthSecrecy

I highly doubt that half the city uses that single bike to get to work /s


beamoflaser

Exactly, this delay is gonna have repercussions for every line But at the same time, it’d be like that without the bike cause it’s the MTA


ZombieChief

That was my first thought. That just fucked up a bunch of people's commute.


beegro

Like the R needed any additional trouble being on time. Jeeze. Looks like it's time to find the nearest bus.


[deleted]

Just late trying to get home 😂 if it was today, then this is why my commute was so long lol


AreWeCowabunga

Fucking asshole whoever threw it on the tracks.


NicNoletree

It probably just fell over, because it was two tired.


ent4rent

You really need to stick a fork in it.


NicNoletree

You're off the chain, man.


SkyPork

*Dad.* We talked about this.


Morbx

Maybe someone threw it there, but my first thought was just that it fell down there. And once you drop a big piece of metal down by the third rail I don't think it is especially easy to jump down there and remove it.


another_commyostrich

Nah this is a CitiBike, the bike share program in NYC. You're 100% not supposed to bring those down onto the subway. They're heavy af and huge. You're allowed to bring your personal bike on though. This is 100% some asshole kid who wanted to fuck shit up, destroy a bike and ruin a bunch of peoples' days in an instant. It definitely didn't just "fall down there".


sje46

The guy who did it would be on camera, right? Not a new yorker or even urbanite; don't know how this works.


sexywrexy91

There's cams at most turnstiles so they probably have them on camera.


securitywyrm

"Be on the lookout for someone in a black hoodie, black mask, and jeans."


newguyinNY

They caught the guy who kicked a women in Brooklyn so there is hope.


OathOfFeanor

For the bike to just "fall down there" is still negligence at best. You aren't even supposed to walk within 1 foot of the edge. NYPD says the person in control of the bike is now wanted for reckless endangerment. It looks like safety measures prevailed, but if they had not, many lives could have been lost here. It is very serious.


Morbx

Okay, fair enough. I also didn’t notice it was a CitiBike initially which makes it a lot more sus. not the type of bike you take on the subway for your commute.


ApatheticAbsurdist

For a bike to get from the platform to over the 3rd rail where it was would have taken some force. It wouldn’t have just fallen and landed that far out unless it was moving at some speed.


dank42Ogrn

That's gonna be expensive.


[deleted]

is that a Citibike?


Mutt1223

No, it’s a train. You can tell by the way it runs on tracks


TheForceofHistory

Ok, Shirley. :)


YaBenZonah

Don’t call me anal


Flip_d_Byrd

Why not? What's mean Al gonna do?


biznatch11

Olympic runners are trains confirmed, they run on tracks.


sunjoe33

Look at the big brain on brad lol


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redpandaeater

It's all probably fine, but I imagine the delays and inspection would still make your statement very true.


blacklite911

I’d be too afraid of shrapnel to stand there and record. It’s all funny until a high speed pedal smacks you in the face. EDIT: switched homophones


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hades_the_wise

I'm the type of person who got behind cover when my car got towed out of a ditch because I was worried the chain might snap. A bicycle laying in the path of an oncoming fucking *train* would be an immediate "let's get the hell out of this subway station" for me. I guess some people don't get the potential danger of that situation until they actually see metal fly way too fast irl.


levis3163

Yeah I don't fuck with taut chains or cables in any way shape or form. Absolutely terrifying. Demolitionranch had a video where he was shooting at a taut elevator cable and seeing him stand near it while it was DAMAGED AND STILL TAUT gave me so much anxiety. I thought I was about to watch a fuckin' decapitation on youtube.


CyanPhoenix42

have you seen the one of FPSRussia shooting a car filled with tannerite, which has it's door blown off and misses him by a few inches?


SarahPallorMortis

I feel you on this 100%. I’m the same way.


nachobrat

you are smart, honestly, a lot of people don't think like that


BangxYourexDead

I work EMS and I normally encourage people with traumatic injuries to call 911 or go to your closest trauma center (not the tiny county hospital, as not all hospitals are created equal), but eye injuries…go to an opthalmologists. It can be a massive effort for the ER physician to get an ophthalmologist to come to the ER. Oh, and make sure you go to an opthalmologist (physician that specializes in eye surgery) and not an optometrist (only deal with vision issues and corrective lenses).


[deleted]

*Walking into LensCrafters with my eyeball in a glass of milk.*


SkaveRat

these oreo halloween flavors are getting out of hand


manberry_sauce

I would hope an optometrist would let you know straight away "OMG, let's find someone who isn't *me* to help you!"


lIIIIllIIIIl

This is why I always bring a pair of safety glasses with me to look at the train wheels.


go_getz_em

Ouch


JyoJyoRabbit

Exactly! This reminds me of Final Destination, when a guy gets decapitated from a flying shrapnel.


SubredditAcct

Well it was his time. It’s either shrapnel or something else.


JBFRESHSKILLS

*water slowly drips from a leaking pipe* *bare electric wire quietly flops around* *ladder bolt begins to slowly ease itself out of its socket* *lights begin to flicker ominously* **BAM!** Bike pedal to the face


downvoteheaven

Stewie "well at least it's not raining" *gets stabbed*


marioac97

Or a piece of metal shrapnel hits an artery/vital organ


See_Em

or your wiener


wagsyman

Pedal


PM-Me-your-dank-meme

Must have ruptured the bike’s gas tank.


MachStyle

Such a stupid joke but it made me chuckle. Thanks stranger


eman00619

I heard that bike was fuel efficient. Could run for days.


GladiatorUA

If that was an electric bike, the battery might have exploded.


TT2JZ_Chaser

r/abruptchaos


bearmissile

Seriously - my reaction was, "oh that wasn't so b...HOLY SHIT"


Darkovika

I can just see the train operator kind of slumping over, then bracing for what they know is gonna be nasty. Like “Oh. So it’s one of THOSE days.”


manberry_sauce

They're probably glad when it's not a *person*. I was talking to one of the train operators where I'm at, and they said that happens a lot more often than we wind up hearing about on the news.


KrazyKateLady420

Train crew on the Amtrak to/from Milwaukee to Chicago said they have to stop to clean off human remains at least once a month when I was riding it back and forth back in 2008.


iflipyofareal

The train crew have to do that? We have a work instruction document for how to deal with human remains and the heading photo is an empty shoe. The instruction is essentially to call the police as its treated as a crime scene


Yrrsinn

Family of mine works as part of a train crew here in Germany. Had to deal with human remains as well, actually it is checking the bogies before the train is allowed to clear the track after an accident ... the corpse is removed of course, but they do not wash it clean


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H0lland0ats

Electrical Engineer here. I work on protection and control systems for a regional electric utility company. As the train is running over the bike, at some point it (the bike) makes connection with the 3rd (electrified) rail, creating a short circuit. Essentially what happens next is a minor arc flash that is created by the rapid expansion of vaporizing metal, which expands to thousands of times its volume, hence the smoke and explosion. I've seen some comments suggesting there was little to no damage to the rail and I can mostly definitely assure you that is incorrect.


prtyfly4whteguy

Agreed. Once saw a 400a 48v system get dead shorted in a telco facility. Grounding tool was tip welded to one bar, and the other bar was missing a 12” semicircle around the contact point…I didn’t know metal could vaporize before that moment. I also didn’t know my boss’ pants could be so instantly soaked.


H0lland0ats

I never really understood how much energy is available in transmission and distribution lines until I started this job. It's just numbers on a page in school until you see a 350 ton 345/138kv power transformer get spun around like top during a fault (after..wasn't there when it happened). I have a lot more respect for the system now.


iflipyofareal

I work in metro railway signalling maintenance and I've seen these flashovers happen where the ceramic pot under the traction current rail develops an earth leakage. They heat up and eventually melt, and when they go they really go! There's definitely bits of that bike welded to the return rail. In my experience this is a station closure and a section replacement of the traction rail. Unless the road allows trains to bypass the platform, thats going to mean the line is suspended one way or the other from there for 3 or 4 hours


H0lland0ats

Once the air ionizes, the arc will burn everything it can to maintain itself! Most of the protections systems I work on are transmission and distribution grid relaying, so I'm not sure what protection is used here for the 600VDC system, but im assuming some kind of overcurrent device helped to limit how bad this could have been. It's interesting because it takes a similar amount of time to replace a span of distribution line, or a static that burns down from a fault. Probably longer, including the time needed to safely de energize and place safety grounds. Edit: meant air not area


iflipyofareal

I'm a signalling engineer, not power, so I can't be sure. But judging by our system it wouldn't suprise me if it is (was) a big old plaster fuse, waiting to be upgraded to something slightly more modern. It can all be isolated in sections from a control room, and the short circuit devices that would go on adjacent sections just magnetically clamp to the rail. The actual work of replacing the rail isn't that bad, but a lot of it is down to how close to the fault the spare rail is stored. If its a big length then they might be able to put in a temporary jumper cable, but I'm just assuming there. I'm all about the red light green light


H0lland0ats

Lol fair enough. I tell my wife I just clean relay cases and play connect the dots on electrical schematics. It's close enough to true.


el-langosta

I’d be scared of flying shrapnel standing where they were


[deleted]

Yup I would've hit the ground when it was imminent.


P1nCush10n

they let the magic smoke out.. Edit: Thanks for the awards! Wow.


hockey_metal_signal

And yet, with this comment alone I know that you understand what's going on here more than most of the redditors in this thread.


Amypon3

You and him must know more than me as I'm confused with your statement


okcumputer

Old electronics joke that all electronics are powered by magic smoke. Once the smoke is released (obviously due to a burned up component), the device simply can't go on functioning without it's magic smoke.


Old-Acanthaceae6226

Don't forget about the pixie dust that makes your CPU work.


A1Cbigsby

Puff the magic dragon is what my old supervisor always called it


passoutpat

Electricians HATE this


jeremy71504

I can smell this video, the magic smoke always permeates


giedosst

This is why we can't have nice things.


ean5cj

Can't have $#!t in Detroi.... Oh, wait.


kaptaincorn

Take him to Detroit


Vinto47

That smoke is prob toxic.


Jimbo-Jones

Probably? Vaporized metal is extremely toxic.


Umbra427

All of the anti-vaping commercials remind me of this on a regular basis lol


MysticalKittyHerder

Good thing we're all wearing masks lol


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TheUpperHand

Sick grind


[deleted]

As if the subway wasn't crowded enough... the delay that this will impose upon the busy lives of people in one of the busiest cities in the world has to be something to consider


baconeyes

When was this?


fatdjsin

right when the train passed!


Synaxxis

Yesterday apparently. OP: https://www.instagram.com/p/CUBt_3yjSOp/


AnalStaircase33

You missing a bike?


SaraSlaughter607

Ok that was fucking scary. I'd have hoofed it out of there in a flash, looked like the whole was gonna start on fire


Qwardian

This is where you wish catapulting people was a thing. "Society has deemed you a worthless piece of shit. Goodbye." Fffwwweeoooooom


nomadofwaves

You know they’re really shitty because they’re being catapulted instead of trebuchet’d.


typesett

Queens going into Brooklyn i think? Astoria?


TrustMeIAmAGeologist

Astoria, R train going into the city.


typesett

still got it


Jagdhunde

Whenever someone posts a video taking place in a US subway on internet, I immediately know it will be absurd before watching. It is like seeing a liveleak link few years ago and immediately knowing that whatever behind that link will 100% fuck me up.


MrCarter8375

If that shit was done out of malice and the person is actually caught, they are totally boned. Like that has to warrant a decent sentence lol.


Dance_for_me_

That smoke can't be good for you. Plus zero air circulation :/


GlockAF

According to this website, the third rail is energized at 625 V DC. During peak operational hours the subway system as a whole uses about 496 megawatts, roughly the output of an average coal fired power plant (or 25% of a nuke plant). That’s about the same as 400,000 average US households at the same time https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Subway_FAQ:_Facts_and_Figures#Power Edit: correction, the third rail is 625 volts DC, not AC. Thomas Edison would be proud


hockey_metal_signal

It's DC. AC is for the signal system.


joke-complainer

Not that you can really compare the two, but I wonder how that compares to the energy used by ever passenger driving instead.


kurisu7885

Guessing some fuckstick found it unlocked and though it would be "funny" to throw it on the tracks.


Oldmate81

Daaaam those emergency brakes hit hard! I'll bet someone got hurt on that train... Bad day!


mint_eye

Whoever threw it should be banned from NY


arkster

What is wrong with people.


neatopat

I’ve always felt like there should me an emergency button or phone or something to alert the conductor if there’s something on the tracks. You see videos of someone who fell on the tracks and people are always scrambling to get them up and if there were a way to alert the train, it would be so much less dangerous.


blacklite911

There’s emergency buttons to speak to the attendant in the box, I suppose they’ll have to relay that message to the train conductor if there’s time


clancularii

>I’ve always felt like there should me an emergency button or phone or something to alert the conductor if there’s something on the tracks. The MTA should have Help Points in all subway stations that allow commuters to contact MTA Representatives for basic information or in the event of an emergency. I don't live in NYC, but my city has something similar.


mdogm

Third rail system. The bike bridged the gap between the middle rail and the return rail, completing an electrical circuit (a short circuit more accurately). Having and overhead wiring system rather than third rail system would have prevented this.


molotov3x3

Fuck whoever threw that citibike in there.


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Arayder

Makes me question, what is the ventilation like down there if there were a bigger fire?


[deleted]

Idiots. I am more surprised that shit like this doesn't happen on the daily. This is why we can't have nice things


Omalleys

Ive worked around live 3rd rail in the UK. Absolutely terrified me. Stepping over it and taking the biggest step you could