Featured
New York
Commuter Rail
New York Mayor, Officials Take First Ride on 7 Train Extension
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other officials on Friday took the first ride on the 7 line extension, six years after workers started construction. The $2.4 billion project, which is set to be completed next summer, is the first subway expansion project in more than six decades that is funded by the city. The extension of the 7 line is a key component of the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project, officials contend. With the roughly one-mile-long extension, the 7 line will continue to a new terminus near 34th Street and 11th Avenue on Manhattan’s Far West Side. Currently, the
Commuter Rail
Feinstein: Wrecks Could Have Been Avoided With PTC
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
Commuter Rail
Conversation Turns to Positive Train Control Following Metro-North Crash
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
Commuter Rail
Metro-North Train Speeding at Time of Crash, NTSB Says
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,”
Commuter Rail
Four Killed, 40 Injured Following Metro-North Derailment in the Bronx
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
Amtrak