NYC transit leaders investigating after video appears to show young people operating subway train

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NEW YORK (AP) — A video that appears to show young people operating an above-ground subway train while a transit worker stands by has drawn the ire of New York City transit leaders, who said Wednesday that an investigation is under way.

The video posted to TikTok first shows one boy sitting at the controls, at one point honking the horn as the employee stands off to the side.

“Go,” the man calmly tells him as the train passes an empty platform during the daytime ride. “Go, go, go it's green.”

Later, a second boy wearing an orange safety vest, is in the driver's seat while the employee holds a coffee cup in one hand and taps on his cellphone with the other. Both boys appear to be in their teens.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority did not respond to questions about when the video was taken and whether the employee had been identified. The train was not in passenger service, the agency said, adding that passengers are never allowed in non-public areas.

“What appears on those videos is reckless and unacceptable," an emailed statement from NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said, "and any transit worker who permits unauthorized, untrained people to operate trains will face consequences, including termination of employment and prosecution to the extent allowed by law.”

An investigation is under way, Janno Lieber, chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said.

“I can’t comment on the investigation,” Lieber said when asked about the video at an unrelated news conference Wednesday. “I’ll give you my opinion. Somebody who lets people who are not qualified and certified and fully trained to drive a train ought to be fired. That’s my opinion.”

In January, police released images and video of six individuals who they said commandeered an unoccupied train and took it for a joyride.

In September 2024, police said two teenagers took an empty subway train for a brief joyride that ended when it crashed it into another parked train car. No one was injured.