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R subway train stolen in NYC, taken for joyride, authorities say

By Jesse Zanger

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    NEW YORK CITY (WCBS) — Police are searching for three people they say stole an R subway train.

The theft was discovered at around 10 p.m. Sunday.

The brazen thieves posted their joyride on social media, authorities said. The video shows them inside the conductor’s cabin, with one operating the controls, while one sits out the front door of the train with his legs dangling over the tracks, and other stands behind him.

Train’s doors were locked

According to the NYPD, the R train was left secured on a layup track at the 71st Avenue Station in Queens. A layup track is used for storage of trains when they are not in service.

The MTA said R train 9108 was left secured and unattended by MTA personnel who, when they returned, found it had been moved from its original location – the thieves had returned the train to an area near where they took it from.

The doors of the train were locked, which indicated someone had entered the train using transit keys.

It’s not clear how the long the trio operated the train, or how far they took it. Social media video, however, shows the train being operated at a high rate of speed. Authorities said the intruders wore all black and black masks and covered camera lenses inside the train with black marker.

After MTA workers determined the train had been moved, they took it to the Queens train yard to analyze its “black box” data to figure out where it had been taken, and for how long.

“New York City Transit is working with the NYPD on their investigation of this incident,” an MTA spokesperson said.

The incident is being investigated as an act of reckless endangerment. So far, there have been no arrests.

Not the first time trains have been taken

It’s not the first time unauthorized persons have taken trains for joyrides.

In September, two teens tried to operate an unoccupied train in Queens and ended up crashing it, damaging the car. Two 17-year-olds were charged with reckless endangerment and criminal mischief in the incident. There were no injuries.

In January of last year, a vacant R train was taken from the Forest Hills/71st Avenue station and driven onto train storage tracks. No one was injured.

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