Metro-North derailment, the Bronx, New York City - 1 December 2013

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

A passenger train has derailed in the Bronx area of New York City, prompting a major emergency services response amid US media reports of at least four deaths.

Five of the Metro-North train's seven carriages came off the tracks, New York's transport authority said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) said the derailment had occurred near Spuyten Duyvil station.

Hudson Line services had been suspended, it added.

The train was the 05:54 from Poughkeepsie, due to arrive at Grand Central Station at 07:43, ABC News said.

The Fire Department of New York says the derailment occurred at 07:20, causing "multiple injuries", and that 130 firefighters were on the scene.

Earlier reports from the scene said carriages had gone into a nearby body of water, but the MTA has denied this.

Eyewitness Edwin Valero told the Associated Press that at least one carriage had ended up a few feet from the edge.

[ChrisB]

Looks like the near equivalent of what happened in Spain....

[grahame]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/york-train-speeding-derailment-investigators-233523207--finance.html?

YONKERS, New York (Reuters) - A New York commuter train that derailed on Sunday morning, killing four people, was traveling nearly three times faster than the speed limit for the curved section of track where it crashed, officials said on Monday.

The seven-car Metro-North train's brakes were working properly but were applied just seconds before it derailed, investigators said. They said black-box recorders recovered from the train showed it had been traveling at 82 miles per hour (132 kph) before entering the 30-mile-per-hour (48-kph) curve.

Much more information is in the public domain early on in the USA than in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) ... also

"We do know that two minutes before the curve the train was going at 60 miles per hour (97 kph) and had accelerated then up to 82 miles per hour prior to entering the curve," Weener said in an interview with CNN.

The train's throttle was reduced to idle six seconds before derailing and its brakes were activated five seconds before the accident, Weener said at the press conference.

"At this point we are not aware of any problems or anomalies with the brakes," Weener told reporters. Asked if the crash was the result of operator error, he replied, "At this point in time, we can't tell."

[ChrisB]

Driver reported as 'zoned out' in various media this morning.

Eg http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25209372

[JayMac]

This is indeed having all the hallmarks, from press reports (which shouldn't be taken as gospel), of a driver who lost concentration for whatever reason.

[Electric train]

The way the legal system works in the USA is different to ours, it almost seems that the trial by media and publicity is an important one to win before the it goes to Court