Officials: 4 Dead After Metro-North Train Derails In The Bronx

CBS NY ^ | 12.01.13

[Perdogg]

Four people were killed and 63 injured when a Metro-North commuter train derailed Sunday morning in the Bronx, officials said.

All of the train’s seven cars came off the curved track about 100 feet north of the Spuyten Duyvil station around 7:20 a.m., MTA officials said. One car came to rest feet from the water.

[no-to-illegals]

dang ....

[rktman]

Damn AR trains. Anybody do a universal background check on the engineer? How many more must die due to the misuse of these weapons of war? Oh, dang. We’re talking about choo-choos.

[umgud]

ping

[epluribus_2]

isn’t it time we get past our close minded attitudes and just ban these military style... uh oh shoot... trains.

[1rudeboy]

Jim gave Willie a one-way train ticket out of town.

[SamAdams76]

Looks like it happened by the Hudson, just south of Yonkers. I've taken that line in the past out of Tarrytown. Always a nice ride, especially with a Foster's oil can on the way back.

Whenever I see pictures of derailments, I'm always amazed that there are not more fatalities. Nobody wears seat belts on trains.

[trebb]

Whenever I see pictures of derailments, I'm always amazed that there are not more fatalities. Nobody wears seat belts on trains.

I saw a cargo train derail in Rochester NY in the early '70s. Only moving 30 mph or so in city limits and cars were leaping straight up and coming down every which way. Having seen one in process, I'm even more amazed at the low number of deaths.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

They were warned!

[jimbo123]

Bet a million dollars the union engineer was texting on his iPhone. Steve Jobs’s fault.

[jimbo123]

Flashback:

NTSB: Speed, texting factors in derailment

Inattention to signals, ineffective communication, distraction from text messaging and speeding were all cited as factors in the Jan. 12, 2012, crash that involved three trains and injured two people, according to a federal agency.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/duneland/jackson-township/ntsb-speed-texting-factors-in-derailment/article_af20b3a8-05f6-569e-b8db-74af18145c03.html

[jimbo123]

Flashback:

Spain Train Crash Conductor Was Using Phone

Investigators Say Train Was Traveling at Nearly Twice Speed Limit

MADRID—A Spanish train driver was talking on his work cellphone and traveling at nearly twice the recommended speed when the train derailed on a tight curve last week, in Spain’s worst rail accident since the 1940s.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323854904578637961496514342

[Calvin Locke]

A few years ago, the MBTA in Boston had a "minor" accident. ~$3.5M in damages, but no deaths. The motor "man" was texting, IIRC. Transsexual to boot, and had taken the name, not "Chas", but "Aiden Quinn".

FWIW, employees were supposedly prohibited from carrying cellphones while on the clock. They do have their radios for emergencies and work related business.

[jimbo123]

Flashback:

Engineer in Deadly LA Train Crash Was Texting

Less than a week after one of the worst train accidents in recent U.S. history, California officials today issued a temporary order banning train operators from using cell phones on duty.

Federal transportation authorities say the engineer of a Southern California commuter train who ran a red light and slammed into a freight train last Friday — killing 25 people and injuring more than 130 others — was text-messaging on his cell phone. The engineer, Robert Sanchez, who died in the crash, never hit his brakes.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpostinvestigations/2008/09/conductor_in_deadly_la_train_c.html

[Calvin Locke]

A relative was drafted at the end of WWII. His train to basic training in some Southern state crashed/derailed going into the station. The station burned down.

He couldn't remember what type of engine it was, and I think he said there weren't any serious injuries.

I knew a guy that was on a commuter train that was rammed from behind in a tunnel going into Boston. His injuries amounted to a dry cleaning bill for his suit from smoke grime and smell.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Aiden Quinn caused $10 million in damage and sent 12 people to the hospital, but s/he only got six months probation. Changing sex was a great career move.

[miss marmelstein]

Not so funny. We think a friend of ours might have been on that train.

[pieceofthepuzzle]

I’m very sorry. I really hope and pray that’s not the case.

As an aside, I would very much like to see calculations regarding what the forces are at different speeds for the old and new Metro North cars at all these types of locations where there are curves. Maybe they need to rethink their rules of operation for these trains.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

A woman on the ground outside the station was killed by falling masonry. Two passengers were injured. The conductor was given a 25-franc fine and the engine driver a 50-franc fine.

[rktman]

You are correct. The situation is not funny. If you did have a friend on the train, our prayers for their safety.