NEW YORK — A giant drill bit being used in a construction project pierced the ceiling of a subway tunnel in Queens on Thursday, coming into contact with an occupied train a short distance away from a station platform, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said. The drill bit did not enter into the train and there were no injuries.
The MTA said it happened around 11:45 a.m. Thursday. The bit, 10 inches across, was being used in the MTA’s East Side Access project, which is a rail link that will connect the Long Island Rail Road with Grand Central Terminal.
A contractor was using the bit to expand a well when it somehow drilled into the tunnel and continued downward, coming into contact with the outside of the train.
The train stopped. Another train was brought in behind it, and the several hundred passengers were guided back through that second train and back to the platform.
A call to the contractor operating the drill, Griffin Dewatering New England, Inc., was not returned. The MTA said it is investigating.
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