Metro North Hudson Line Derailment
Aerial view of the derailment near the Spuyten Duyvil Station. Photo courtesy of Mark Bonifacio of the New York Daily News.
A trying year for the MTA Metro-North Railroad has become even worse as a NYC-bound Hudson line train derailed this morning about 100 yards north of the Spuyten Duyvil Station on a large curved section of track.
Reports have been frequent throughout the day. We knew that 4 were confirmed dead & 63 injured. However just a short time ago, the agency released the names of the victims after their families were notified. The victims were:
Donna L. Smith, 54, of Newburgh, N.Y.
James G. Lovell, 58, of Cold Spring, N.Y.
James M. Ferrari, 59, of Montrose, N.Y.
Ahn Kisook, 35, of Queens, N.Y
First & foremost, my heartfelt condolences go out to the friends & families of the victims.
The initial report from motorman William ‘Bill’ Rockefeller Jr. was that he applied the brakes approaching the curve as is normal procedure but they failed him.
Some riders on board including Kathleen Davis said “We were going so fast around that turn, something wasn’t right. All of a sudden everyone went flying. We were dragging on the ground, people were landing on each other. Then there was dirt everywhere.”
The NTSB was quickly on the scene & they along with the MTA will be reviewing the train’s black box for speed records leading up to the derailment.
As one would expect, service through the area will be suspended for sometime. The MTA has released service plan information for the rest of tonight & Monday morning:
Following this morning’s derailment of a Hudson Line train in the Bronx, MTA Metro-North Railroad will continue to provide bus service from the Tarrytown Station to the White Plains Station on the Harlem Line until 2 a.m. Monday.
Beginning at 5 a.m. Monday, MTA Bus will provide a bus shuttle between the Yonkers Station and the 242nd Street terminus of the Broadway #1 local subway, until further notice.
New York City Subways will operate two additional #1 local trains per hour during the peak periods.
Hudson Line will continue to be cross-honored on the subway.
Many of the 26,000 people who use the Hudson Line on an average weekday are encouraged to ride the Harlem Line as an alternative.
People who do not have to travel are urged to telecommute. People should expect crowded trains.
In cooperation with Westchester and Putnam counties and local municipalities, special parking is being arranged to accommodate additional drivers at the Southeast Station at the northern terminus of the Harlem line and at Kensico Dam, which is in walking distance to the Valhalla station. Riders should consult mta.info for additional information on the continuing repair effort and service restoration.
As the days & weeks go by, we will find out more about what led to this horrific tragedy. Make sure to keep checking back as I will be staying on top of this via posts & updates on Twitter.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Metro North Hudson Line Derailment: Aerial view of the derailment near the Spuyten Duyvil Station. Photo court… http://t.co/9LU1xjZezQ