Queens has seen its fair share of unconventional happenings, but the recent subway saga adds a new chapter to the story of NYC's transit system. Police are on the hunt for a woman who's accused of hijacking a locked N train for a one-stop joyride in Queens, as reported by ABC7NY. This incident, unfolding around 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, involved an unidentified woman breaking into the idle train at the Broadway station and taking it southbound to the 36th Avenue station in Astoria before vanishing into the urban tapestry.
The theft didn't put a dent in the morning's service, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) assures, and thankfully, no injuries or damage are left in its wake. Yet, this marks at least the third train hijacking in Queens in less than a year, following similar episodes in Forest Hills and at the Briarwood station, Gothamist notes. The MTA, beset by these brazen breaches, had previously promised heightened security and the installation of alarms as deterrents, though it remains closemouthed if Thursday's stolen train was equipped with such technology.
In a series of unauthorized joyrides plaguing the city's underground, TWU Local 100 reveals that cab doors generally remain locked, but suffer from a universal key vulnerability—keys that have found their way into opportunistic hands either through theft or an underground marketplace. This is not just a lone escapade by adults with misguided thrills; in March, a conductor felt the brunt of this security lapse when two juveniles assaulted her and snatched her keys at the Park Slope station, even though the assailants reportedly already possessed a set of keys themselves.
The MTA, grappling with these persistent issues, is turning to future technologies as a solution, with MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber hinting at biometric systems for train security. "It's really time for biometrics," he professed back in April, pointing to a need for a modernized safety net on older trains and flagging investment in the next capital program, according to a statement obtained by ABC7NY. The precise timetable for implementing these technological upgrades remains, however, on an unsure footing.
Authorities continue their search for the red-dreadlocked woman behind Thursday's railway escapade, as the city awaits a permanent fix that will ensure its trains no longer divert off-course at the hands of illicit joyriders.
