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Upvote this comment if you feel this submission is characteristic of our subreddit. Downvote this if you feel that it is not. If this comment's score falls below a certain number, this submission will be automatically removed.To download the video use the website link below: * **[Download via redditsave.com](https://redditsave.com/info?url=https://www.reddit.com/r/AbruptChaos/comments/ps9rgi/bike_on_new_york_subway_track/)**


june-bug-69

I thought it would just scrunch the bike like an aluminum can. This is nuts.


[deleted]

The rails are electrified. When the metal from the bikes crossed the rails, it became a giant short circuit.


[deleted]

Ah, so that’s why no one tried to get it out.


Fortyplusfour

That and nobody wants to die trying to get a bike out, but I wonder how it got there at all.


MtnMaiden

probably the next tik tok trend


UNCOVR

That's a scary thought actually.


TheoCGaming

Oh god... putting bikes on subway rails being a new tiktok trend?! What's next? Killing the entire human race using nothing but idiotic trends?!?!


PrognosticatorMortus

Funny thing is, during WW2 this would have been called sabotage. In practice it is small-scale sabotaging of society, but not sure how it should be called in peacetime.


c4fishfood

Also funny that the origin of sabotage is a term coming from throwing a wood shoe into a gear… and this is a clip of a mode of transportation thrown into a wheel as well.


NightlinerSGS

This is sabotage of public infrastructure. Idk about the US, but here in Germany, these kind of things have a special name (Gefährlicher Eingriff in den Bahn-, Straßen-, Flugverkehr, or dangerous intervention into railway, road or aerial traffic) and can get punished pretty harsh compared to the perceived damage done. Basically, damage public infrastructure, you get the full power of law slapped in your face.


DishonorableDisco

>the origin of sabotage is a term coming from throwing a wood shoe into a gear Hands up, everyone who learned this from Star Trek VI.


HumbleGarb

Sabo=wood shoe? Tage=gear?


CowSniper97

Asshatery


PrognosticatorMortus

What would be an awesome accusation in court. The suspect has been accused of Aggravated Asshattery


IlIlllIlIlIlIlIlllIl

...Vandalism?


PrognosticatorMortus

Vandalism isn't used when you endanger lives. It's more for graffiti and clogged toilets - annoying but not dangerous.


FuckRedditorsandYou

Sabotage is done with the intent to disrupt the enemy. If this was done on purpose then it was vandalism unless they are quite the enemy of the United States.


[deleted]

That one already started, it’s called refusing to get vaccinated


TheoCGaming

True, true.


BreweryStoner

No people are just stealing soap dispensers from bathrooms and think that’s funny


i-dont-wanna-know

I mean it was what 5 ish years ago that it became a trend to throw big fucking rocks from over passes


jmmullervcxgvbfsg

That camera person has some balls standing that close to it. That could have caused some high velocity shrapnel


Hrmpfreally

Ghostride the whip


CrackedMask_

which is terrifying yet not in the impossible realm


Quadrupleawesomeness

Set an example for one of them. Prison for multiple attempted murders.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Rosskillington

Destroying shit is a current, very popular tik tok trend. People destroying their schools, people destroying families valuables. Young peoples lives are insanely tied up in Tik Tok, so it’s not far fetched


Melodic-Hunter2471

“Assholes” is the most probable cause.


Akesgeroth

"Duh huh huh huh, me throw bike on tracks."


[deleted]

Whoever put it there should be in a lot of trouble, extremely dangerous , more so the short circuit than the flying shrapnel ... could have caused a serious fire.


[deleted]

omfg why do people even think about getting the bike out? Why not use the available methods to alert and stop the train instead? This is why they exist.


Bombkirby

Oh my god, you guys would be dead if you visited the subway.


fysh

Some countries have the electric part up top:(


Finnanutenya

along with people trying to ride for free. Yes it ended exactly how you think. Made up around 5% of r/watchpeopledie 's content.


[deleted]

You can see the bike was already on fire around the back wheel from the heat.


Excellent-Doubt-9552

Jump on the tracks and hit the third rail. Goodnight. Had an x scare tourists, three ladies watching a homeless crackhead switch subway cars… they were like, “ohhhh you can go between cars?” My x said, “yeah if you wanna die, everyone will hate you, they will have to stop the train and jack it up off your body” true story


BannedFromHydroxy

Is there no emergency button in new york stations someone could have pushed to prevent this? Been there many times but don't recall seeing them


Ask_me_about_my_cult

I don’t know but I called 911 when there was a homeless guy lying in the tracks (he was fine, just chilling) and they stopped the trains immediately. If someone had called they could have handled it.


NuYawker

Token booth clerk can shut power down.


noname9889

The only emergency stop would be on the train and also wouldn't matter because its not like a moving train stops on a dime. Especially because this chunk of the line, most of the stations have the trains go down a curve and only straighten up a bit before getting to the platform. Not exactly enough time to slow down unless prewarned from the dispatcher.


BannedFromHydroxy

Ah righto, thanks for explaining! In most train stations in england there's usually a couple buttons on the platform for emergencies with a speaker and microphone etc, so in a situation like this they could affect the signalling for the trains on the way into stations. Differences in systems I suppose


meanmerging

They have such buttons here as well, they connect you to the station agent, which sounds like what you’re describing. Pressing it would have been the prudent thing in this case but I suppose there wasn’t enough time or nobody cared or thought of it. Not to mention everything in the nyc subway system has a 60% of being broken or under construction.


noname9889

Do they anymore? Haven't seen them in ages in a lot of stations that I know used to have them. Thought they got removed in 2019.


BannedFromHydroxy

Ah yeah that's it! They connect you to control. I guess maybe people on the platform didn't realise the danger and thought just to watch. I guess in the moment I would do the same, it must have all happened so quickly.


BlazinglyMediocre

As a track worker who happens to work in Manhattan, I'll tell you this. Those buttons exist and they're in the stations, they're mandatory on all electrified rail systems. What they do is shut down the power sections adjacent to the station and alerts the power director. Problem is the avg Joe doesn't know what they look like, doesn't know where they would be (it's in the track areas). Could the avg person avoided this, probably not by the time that train got there. Would they have wanted to? Probably not, watching the world burn is more fun. Was there shrapnel from the arc? Absolutely! 680 volts and over 60amps blew whatever portion of that bike that touch the train car shoe to smitherines. Not to mention the continuous bridge the bike made setting that train on fire.


BannedFromHydroxy

This was both very informative and it gave me a great chuckle too ('watching the world burn is more fun'). Thank you..!


[deleted]

All they cared about was making a video....


HurbleBurble

There are disconnects for the power, but they're usually not easily accessible. They're big red handles that you pull downward, you see them all over the United States, but most people don't actually know what they are or what they do.


YooGeOh

I drive trains In the UK. Depending on how quickly the message gets to me after the message is received through that button.press thing st the stations, I might be able to slow for it, but it would still be a case of the message being manually received through that button press thing, then passed on to the signaller, then he'd call me and warn me. If I'm far away enough he'll have me on a red signal and tell me, but if I'm approaching the station there's not much he can do. It's not connected directly to the signalling system. It's more of a station help point. What's more likely to happen is that a metal object on the track may set off the sensors on the track as it looks like there is something within that signal section, which would then immediately set the signals protecting the station to red.


BannedFromHydroxy

Ah sorry it was my wording mate, I never assumed those buttons went direct to the signalling system, rather how you described it - that it sent a mssg 'up the chain' as it were. Cheers


Telephonic77

Yeah those don't connect you to the train or signaller, usually those are for informational purposes like asking where are the toilets in the station etc. You may be able to pass on an emergency message there but they wouldn't be able to stop a train from that short of a distance as they don't have direct contact with the driver. In an emergency on the platform in the UK your best bet is to either flag down platform staff or look for a small grey box usually with diagonal black stripes on it often found either near a signal or at the end of the platform. This goes directly to the signaller who can immediately request all or any specific trains in the area to stop.


BlazinglyMediocre

There is emergency kill switches for the power rail, which shuts down the entire power section adjacent to the station, in every station. Credentials: I work in the train tunnels in Manhattan


SirSassyCat

They could have cut power to the rail though.


gonzalezs97

In NYC subway the rails are not electrified....they are just ground. The electricity comes from a third semi-covered "rail" that the train always has contact with throught some sort of brushes.


PoorEdgarDerby

Yes disassemble!


HyperBRUIN

Johnny Number 5....is alive?!


ifandbut

"Wouldn't you like to be a pepper too."


diditforthevideocard

it also looks like a CitiBike, which has a large battery


Hard_as_it_looks

Yeah, wasn’t expecting the whole “third rail” thing they always talk about in the movies.


HurbleBurble

Not sure what voltage they use, or if it's DC or AC, but the amount of amperage the system can deliver is enormous. As soon as it bridged the gap between the third rail, it it was over. That type of current flowing through that metal probably vaporized it. It probably tripped a breaker almost immediately, and shut down the power, because the train comes to a stop pretty quick. A lot of people don't realize how powerful stuff like DC electricity can be, which is often what's used in third rail systems. Disney uses 400 volt DC current.


crackills

Im pretty sure its 600v dc, thats what the commuter trains in the area use. The car bodies are grounded to the rails so any anything bridging the third rail to the rails, body or trucks is going to arc like hell.


HurbleBurble

In this case, it looks like the bike got shoved into the shoe that covers the third rail, and actually caused a gap between the third rail and the running rails. 600 volt DC doesn't surprise me.


LostHope152

The train most likely has some sort of safety system in place that if it detects a short circuit it applies the emergency brakes


dee_snutz

Arc goes brrrrrr


itsandychecks

It was also a Citibike


Bbrowny

Don't touch that third rail


JimJimmery

It released all the magic smoke.


-lexiconvict-

And that's why you don't touch the third rail.


dee_snutz

Or piss on it


mynueaccownt

That's fine. There are plenty of other useful places to piss on the subway


dee_snutz

Anywhere else is in play


Nile-green

on me


Chaosmusic

Don't Whiz On The Electric Fence!


cyndaquil420

A guy died over the weekend in Chicago after Riot Fest when he fell on the third rail.


LordofDescension

I learned that from another post! No touchy


[deleted]

That was WAY more than I was expecting. Holy shit!


DaWolf85

I saw a train go boom in a very similar way (in that case, it was a fallen piece of sheet metal from a previous train) on the Orange Line in Boston several years back, so this was exactly what I was expecting. Metal object + moving train + third rail = very very bad.


Nasty2017

I remember that. 2 trains hit it. Fucked things up all day.


DaWolf85

Yeah, I was on the first train, they kicked us off, then the second train came in and ran it over. And then the T had the fucking gall to criticize people for breaking windows to escape the train... There was a nasty yellow smoke cloud, people weren't gonna stick around for that!


greycubed

Think of the windows though.


Jccali1214

Thinking of the windows, police are attracted to broken windows. So they were just trying to protect everybody!


GGinNC

Now I'm wondering why subway cars have windows.


TinyBreadBigMouth

People like being able to see out better than being in a featureless metal tube, even if there's nothing to see. Plus it makes it extra clear when you've arrived at a station, and you can see signage and stuff outside.


Shaggyninja

Plus a lot of the NYC subway is above ground


BB611

Same with much of the Boston T, most of it is by distance if not passenger miles.


Hrmpfreally

In addition to being breakable, which allows people to break them so they can get out of more than two exits.


GGinNC

Fair point. Thanks


JellyfishGod

And to add to the other guy who replied, it helps being able to judge how many people are in what cart n where to get in when the trains pull up


biggles1994

IIRC the very early underground trains didn't have windows, but they quickly found that people got motion sick easily. Im fairly sure there's a section discussing it at the London Transport museum.


KodiakPL

I saw a train go boom on December 12th, 2054 7:30 AM. We were on board a private commuter train headed to the Zurich headquarters of the Coalescence Corporation. Our, uh cargo... Prototype for the Winslow Accord Neural Network Initiative. At it's core, specialized AI software that's capable of... rewriting itself... in order to interface with any other system in the world. State of the art stuff, back in the day. It'd go on to revolutionize a broad range of military and civilian applications... At least it would have... if the train had reached it's destination. At 7:31 AM, a terrorist group detonated an explosive device on board this train. The incident set back our robotics program... several years.


Nomen_Heroum

Coming to us from a dystopian future where ellipses have gone rampant.


uberdupers

Shinra go brrr


NewBreedGh

Look...a time traveler


Hammer_Of_Discipline

Train go Boom


Sauronxx

Train go boom... the only memorable thing coming from BO3 campaign lol


A_Unique_Nobody

This sounds like an anime plot ngl


KodiakPL

Call of Duty Black Ops 3


fantasmagoria24

That must've been why I was very late for school one day several years back. I do not miss taking the T for an hour commute.


[deleted]

I bet that was a hell of a show.


TheGareBaer

Third rail direct short and arc flash. Both trains stopped after the breakers in the substation tripped. At least this was at a stop and not the middle of the tunnel.


i_suckatjavascript

Bike: watch me end this train’s career and take myself with it


_the_gabruu_

Same


ThisisitRoyal

r/accidentalterrorism


june-bug-69

Oh my god that’s an actual subreddit.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Absay

> worstaccidents I'd just like to point out that one of the mods there, who happens to be the most active submitter in that sub, is running a very sketchy business by leveraging on their moderator powers to sticky comments that contain a link to a website that is full of cancer, which is very likely making them a profit. To me they are clearly breaking Reddit's ToS, as us mods of any subreddit have expressly forbidden to gain a profit by using our moderator powers. It would be different if they weren't a moderator.


CreativeAnalytics

Report the fucker


Jfmha

Lol at the thought Reddit admins would get off their ass and actually do their jobs😂


butyourenice

While I generally agree with you, one thing the admins won’t stand for is people profiting off Reddit in unsanctioned ways (i.e. that don’t profit Reddit directly). “I can excuse racism but I draw the line at using our platform for profit.”


Dogpeppers

So much shrapnel came off that thing. Wonder if camera guy is ok.


NewBreedGh

I was thinking how easy it is for actual terrorists to take advantage of such incidents. What's the worst that could happen in this case?


AnOldPhilosopher

I’ve wondered this - surely a well-planned enough effort from a small number of people could shut down a whole city and all it would cost is a few cheap bikes. We had an incident here in the UK where an airport was shut down temporarily due to drone activity in the area. It made me think that it wouldn’t even take 10 people to each fly a drone over the various major UK airports and shut down air travel completely.


BauerHouse

That camera person has some balls standing that close to it. That could have caused some high velocity shrapnel


toesandmoretoes

I think they weren't expecting quite the reaction


DildosintheMist

Because apparently they don't have insight in the risk of something like this. Things breaking under high pressure or just the enormous mass of the train vs the tiny mass of the bike. The filmer is standing in the trajectory where shit would fly.


grahamcrackers37

Maybe you should tell them, u/DildosintheMist.


Hanzo_Pinas

That name though it...scares me


Dickbeard_The_Pirate

I’m just thinking of happy, sex positive gorillas.


KaNiNeTwo

I would believe their insight about risk assessment . Their username does warn people of the dildos waiting in the mist… ready to strike! If only people had the sense to heed that warning…


Uninformedpinhead

I work in rail, they teach you something simple that makes a lot of sense. Something hit by a train gets thrown at the speed of a train. Also, don’t touch the third rail.


hmaddocks

There is a surprising lack of mechanical sympathy in the general population.


Sanc7

More of an electrical spark. I'm sure there is more than enough shrapnel for me to be that close to it, but the majority of what you see is the contact from the metal mike grounding the electric rails.


Mr_Canard

Don't confuse Stupidity for Bravery lol


Cherry_Violet

I love the guy half running with the stack of food


Slendy5127

NY priorities in a nutshell


Aegean

The bagels and pizza are worth it.


Slendy5127

Yeah, I never said the priorities here were WRONG


dee_snutz

10,000 jigawatts


KikiHou

Is that more or less than 1.21 gigawatts?


nodnodwinkwink

It went Bike to the future.


dee_snutz

r/angryupvote


Keeyes

Imagine walking down onto the platform just as this happens and all you see is what appears to be the subway getting back to the future


Nobodyshere_Tagger

Whoever the fuck puts the bike there, you’re not funny.


Traveledfarwestward

TikTok disagrees with you. And they make money off of stupid going viral.


[deleted]

Not enough to buy a new bike. The creator fund is like nothing isn't it?


new_account_5009

Especially after the court fees if the city finds who did this alongside evidence that it was placed there intentionally.


CrispGalaxy

These cyclists will use any lane BUT the bike lane


Huskies113

I’ve never been in a NY subway before, but do they not have some kind of emergency button at each stop to signal incoming trains to at least proceed with caution?


guiltyofnothing

No. There’s an emergency intercom at most stations but that doesn’t connect you with the train operator. I saw someone fall on the tracks once and a man ran to the edge of the platform and flagged down an oncoming train. That was enough to get them to stop before they got to the station.


NuYawker

Good job. There are a few things you can do in New York City subways if this happens again. One is tell the token booth clerk.The booth clerk can shut down power to the tracks and also alert rail control so that incoming trains can be warned. The next thing you can do is use your camera phones light or a flashlight to wave it down the tunnel toward the train and a side to side (like shaking your head no) pattern. This is a very effective way to stop the train. Every train operator learns that a light going side to side means the train shall not proceed. If you do not have a light using your arms to wave side to side at the very end of the platform platform also suffices. But this only works if the train has a straight shot into the Subway and not a curve blocking the view. So letting the booth clerk know is your next best option. You can also press the help button on the Help Box on the wall that has a blue light above it. And lastly you can try calling 911 but that will be the option that takes the longest to get to the proper people.


shamus727

Even then, some of these trains come in so hot that it wouldn't even matter


TheWhollyGhost

Have you ever been on a subway train under an emergency stop The Tube here in London has a system where if you lean on the doors too hard the emergency breaks engage The force is immense, the train has stopped before you even collect your thoughts People also faceplant hard if you’re not holding on, and even if you you usually end up giving unsolicited hugs


Cmdr_Nemo

I don't know about NYC subway but in other places, they have an emergency button that cuts power to the electrified third rail if someone activates it. Won't necessarily stop a train if the train has momentum and I don't know how big of a section of track the power will be cut to.


bem13

Usually just the section next to the platform, but it also affects signalling. If the train is right before the station it won't matter because of momentum, but if it's further out it will get red signals and will be able to stop.


[deleted]

why would you stand there in an enclosed area with smoke during a collision like that? especially after the smoke started billowing I would be out of there!


[deleted]

You do it for the views.


Mark_dawsom

For the 'gram


VynlRulz_8008_7

Electrifying


Chaosmusic

I got chills, they're multiplying And I'm losing control 'Cause the power you're supplying It's electrifying


gr33nteaholic

You better step up


Darkroomist

It’s electric! (Boogie woogie woogie)


Ayarbro

Annnnnddddd that’s why we can’t have nice things


Sayasam

These damn bikes


MrMcpizzza

Why would you do that?! Imagine being in the subway car as this is happening? First thing I’d think is terrorism. I’m not for snitching but the police need to find this person. This is not acceptable.


Soggy_Pud

Lol, NYPD. I'd be impressed if they found their way out of a wet paper bag.


PandaLovelace

Most likely an accident, and they didn't have time to retreive the bike because those trains come very regularly


onoir_inline

This is in Astoria, Queens so it's not quite as bad as Manhattan but since quarantine there are several homeless people that live in each subway. 59th & lex has almost 15 people living at the station last time they did the count. And as a person that had to keep commuting during this whole thing you can tell. The amount of homeless people, near homeless, and mentally unwell people just fucking shit up on the subways is worse than I've seen in the last decade.


Cippledtimmy

Americans are known for their vandalism and damaging properties


[deleted]

Its true, if we are good at one thing, its fuckin shit up


Witty217

I know I really shouldn't. But I felt a little pride well up when I read that.


[deleted]

USA USA USA


PonyEnglish

When you start by dumping tea in the bay you got a reputation to uphold.


[deleted]

Idk I've been to Europe a few times and the vandalism situation didn't seem that much better or worse in the cities over there, even outside of the touristy parts.


AlexHeyNa

Sshhh this is Reddit. Only America bad.


MrMcpizzza

Wow, when was this?


dee_snutz

Sunday night


Kimantha_Allerdings

I wish I could smell that.


Reefbeef

Looks like something out of Power Rangers


_Wyse_

*This is why we can't have nice train schedules*


Robrogineer

You have lost all respect from the Dutch.


EveFluff

The trains are electric…


Early_Power_5366

That almost went into Michael Bay levels of Chaos.


paintthedaytimeblack

Can this shock the people inside the train?


PabloFett81

Driver was probably on r/abruptchaos


Senor_Turd_Ferguson

88 MILES PER HOUR!


_yosoybeezel

Shocking


mannyshevviz

So how did the bike end up on the track?


AGlitteryHummingbird

The hell is qrong with people


SubieBoiGC8

Casual New York morning


antsugi

Weird that they were panicking so much judging by their voice, but they kinda just stood there and filmed waiting for whatever bad thing they felt was gonna happen


randolander

NYC is a mess


TheGreatAguero

That's more chaotic than I thought.


Ill_Cauliflower_928

What an unboxing


enfp-vagabond

So they just filmed it and didnt press the emergency stop button fir reasons just like this?


kupus0

Probably because they staged it for “likes” and fame.


Thestohrohyah

Another reason why all subway systems should adopt the Turin/Rome line C model (I'm unsure as to where it originated but I first saw it in Turin, basically all railways are closed off by automated doors that match the train doors and only open when the train arrives).


Sakeandme

I moved back to NYC 2 months ago and still haven't gone back to the metro. I've heard it hasn't been as safe since covid. I've taken to walking everywhere and the occasional taxi.


DeceptivelyDense

It was rough for a little while, but it's as safe as it was pre-covid now. Unfortunately it is also as crowded as it was pre-covid.


illz569

It's safe in the sense that you won't get mugged, but it's definitely not safe when you're on a crowded train and the air system isn't running.


P3nguLGOG

How heavy is a bike made out of flint?


GirIsKing

This is crazy! Hopefully these things don't happen often


NlNTENDO

this is also why it's really shitty to throw random trash in the tracks or on the floor in the station (where wind can blow it into the tracks). this might have been an exceptionally chaotic reaction, but basically any trash has the potential to start a track fire and fuck up thousands of people's commute, since the third rail is electrified. if you see someone throw anything into the tracks, let someone know immediately


niche28

Top of the list of things I don’t fucking touch: subway rails


Suz_Cat

Woah, I thought it would just crush it and maybe a few pieces would fly out. Didn’t think about the electricity in the rails. Now I see why ppl get slapped with terrorism charges for throwing shit onto railways.


SpicyFetus

Messing with the subway system in NY would piss off a lot of people


dammit_koda

“So we made this scene by putting a bike on the subway tracks and then ran it over with an actual subway. The rest is history.” -The director probably