A commuter train from New York barreled into a New Jersey rail station during the Thursday morning rush hour, causing serious damage to both the train and station, injuring more than 100 people and killing at least one, officials said.
TV footage and photos from the scene show damage to the rail car and extensive structural damage to the Hoboken station.
“The next thing I know, we are plowing through the platform,” a passenger told NBC New York. “It was for a couple seconds, but it felt like an eternity.”
He said the train was crowded, particularly the first two cars, because they make for an easy exit into the Hoboken station and onto the PATH train. Passengers in the second car broke the emergency windows to get out.
The train came to a halt in a covered area between the station’s indoor waiting area and the platform. A metal structure covering the area collapsed. Hoboken, which is NJ Transit’s fifth-busiest stations with 15,000 boardings per weekday, is the final stop for several train lines and a transfer point for many commuters on their way to New York City.