Metro-North – Railfanning.org

FRA Orders Metro-North to Follow Speed Limits

December 6, 2013 Railfanning.org News Wire

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Friday issued an Emergency Order to Metro-North Commuter Railroad, mandating the railroad take immediate steps to ensure its train crews do not exceed speed limits. The order, issued less than a Metro-North week after a wreck killed four passengers an injured more than 60 others, requires the railroad to modify its existing signal system to ensure speed limits are obeyed and to provide two qualified railroad employees to operate trains where major speed restrictions are in place until the signal system is updated. “Safety is our highest priority, and we must do everything we

Feinstein: Wrecks Could Have Been Avoided With PTC

December 5, 2013 Railfanning.org News Wire

U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein wants to step up efforts to install Positive Train Control (PTC) on the nation’s railroads. In a letter to U.S. John Rockefeller, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Feinstein, D-Calif., says PTC could have prevented last weekend’s fatal Metro-North crash and also a 2008 Metrolink crash that killed 25. “According to experts at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a properly functioning Positive Train Control crash avoidance system would very likely have prevented the deadly Metro-North derailment on Sunday,” Senator Feinstein wrote. “PTC systems would also have prevented the 2008 Southern California

NTSB Boots Union from Metro-North Investigation, Fox Reports

December 4, 2013 Railfanning.org News Wire

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has booted a union from the investigation into a fatal Metro-North crash in the Bronx on Sunday, Fox News reported. According to the report, the NTSB booted the Association of Commuter Rail Employees (ACRE) after a representative indicated engineer William Rockefeller “nodded” off just before the train derailed. The Manhattan-bound Metro-North train was traveling 82 mph as it took a curve just north of the Spuyten Duyvil station that had a speed limit of 30 mph, according to various media reports. Four people were killed and more than 60 injured in the derailment. “He

Conversation Turns to Positive Train Control Following Metro-North Crash

December 3, 2013 Railfanning.org News Wire

With the revelation the engineer of the Metro-North train that crashed Sunday in the Bronx and killed four people might have zoned out just before the crash, the conversation has turned toward the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC). The train, which originated in Poughkeepsie, was due to arrive at Grand Central Terminal at 7:43 a.m., was traveling 82 m.p.h. as it took a curve with a speed limit of 30 m.p.h., according to various media reports. In addition to the four deaths, more than 60 others were injured when the Manhattan-bound Metro-North train derailed at about 7:20 a.m. just north

Metro-North Train Speeding at Time of Crash, NTSB Says

December 2, 2013 Railfanning.org News Wire

The Metro-North train that crashed Sunday in the Bronx and left four people dead was traveling 82 m.p.h. as it took a curve with a speed limit of 30 m.p.h., various media reported today. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating whether human error or brake failure is to blame, The Associated Press reported. But, the NTSB said on Twitter there “were 9 station stops prior to the derailment. We are not aware of any prior issues with the brakes.” “The zone leading up to that curve is 70 miles per hour and yes, there was an excess of speed,”

Four Killed, 40 Injured Following Metro-North Derailment in the Bronx

December 1, 2013 Railfanning.org News Wire

At least four people were killed and 40 more were injured when a Manhattan-bound Metro-North train derailed just north of the Spuyten Duyvil station, according to various media reports. Five of the train’s seven cars derailed, according to The New York Post. The train may have been traveling too fast when it took a tight curve at about 7:20 a.m., the newspaper’s report suggested. The train, which originated in Poughkeepsie, was due to arrive at Grand Central Terminal at 7:43 a.m. All traffic on the Hudson Line has been suspended, according to USA Today. “I was at my desk at