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The Metro-North train involved in the rail accident which killed six people near New York City was within the speed limit for that section of track, investigators say.
The train crash happened after a mother-of-three stopped her car on a level crossing north of the city.
She was killed in the subsequent inferno along with five train passengers.
Accident investigators also said there were no problems with the signals or barrier at the site of the collision.
But they remain unaware why the driver, 49-year-old Ellen Brody, became stranded on the crossing at Valhalla, about 20 miles north of New York City.
An official from the National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency leading the probe, said on February 5 that a witness in a nearby car had seen Ellen Brody stop on the crossing in the moments before the train approached.
Investigator Robert Sumwalt said that the barrier was seen to come down on the rear of the car, a Jeep Cherokee, at which point Ellen Brody got out and appeared to inspect the damage.
He said that, according to both the witness and the train driver, after returning to the car she suddenly drove forward slightly – straight into the path of the oncoming train.
Data retrieved from the train’s recording device suggested it was travelling at 58mph an hour, added Robert Sumwalt – just below the 60mph speed limit for that section of track.
In addition to the six deaths there were 15 injuries, seven of them serious.
The electrified third rail of the track came through the front carriage of the train after the crash, setting it on fire.
Passengers had to escape from the rear carriages.
Metro-North, is the second-busiest rail system in the US, serving about 280,000 passengers a day in New York and Connecticut.
Last year, the National Transportation Safety Board issued rulings on five accidents that occurred on the network in 2013 and 2014, criticizing Metro-North while also finding conditions had improved.
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At least 7 people have been killed and twelve others injured after a packed commuter train hit a SUV at a level crossing north of New York City, officials say.
The train, with about 800 passengers on board, hit the Jeep Cherokee near Valhalla – about 20 miles from New York – on February 3 in the evening.
The SUV’s female driver was killed, along with six people on the train, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said.
The car and front carriage of the train caught fire following the crash.
The packed commuter train had left Grand Central Station in New York City and was heading to Wassaic in south-east New York State.
The crossing gates at the railroad had come down on top of the vehicle, which had stopped on the tracks, Metro-North Railroad spokesman Aaron Donovan said.
Photo AP
The driver got out to look at the damage, and then got back into the car to drive forward before it was hit by the train. It pushed the vehicle more than 400ft.
It is not yet clear why the vehicle stalled on the tracks.
As a result of the collision the electrified third rail of the track came through the front carriage of the train.
Passengers had to escape from the rear of the train.
Andrew Cuomo, who visited the site of the crash, said he witnessed “a truly ugly and brutal sight”.
He added: “When you look at the damage done, it’s actually amazing that not more people were hurt.”
Hundreds of passengers were taken to a local rock climbing gym following the crash.
Parts of the railroad remain closed on February 4.
Metro-North is the second-busiest railroad in the US after Long Island Rail Road, serving about 280,000 passengers a day in New York and Connecticut. It was formed in 1983 and serves about 280,000 riders a day in New York and Connecticut. Service on its Harlem Line was suspended between Pleasantville and North White Plains after the crash.
Last year, the National Transportation Safety Board issued rulings on five accidents that occurred on the railroad in 2013 and 2014, criticizing Metro-North while also finding conditions had improved.
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Metro-North train that crashed on Sunday in New York City was going 82 mph in a 30 mph zone when it ran off the rails, investigators have said.
Four people were killed and more than 60 injured in New York’s Bronx borough.
The Metro-North train from Poughkeepsie to New York City crashed about 07:20 local time on a curve.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating whether a mechanical failure or human error caused the train’s high speed.
The train appeared to have been travelling over the speed limit even before it thundered into the curve where it crashed – the speed limit on the track approaching the curve is 70 mph, NTSB board member Earl Weener said on Monday.
He said the train had made nine stops prior to the derailment, and officials had not yet uncovered any brake problems.
Metro-North train that crashed in New York City was going 82 mph in a 30 mph zone when it ran off the rails
Earl Weener said preliminary data from the train’s event recorders indicated the train’s brakes became fully engaged just five seconds before the locomotive came to a complete stop after the crash.
In addition, he said the locomotive’s throttle went to idle six seconds before the train came to a stop.
Authorities continue to question the train’s engineer and three other crew members, and planned to transport the locomotive to a secure facility for further examination.
Officials were examining the engineer’s mobile phone – a standard procedure, Earl Weener said.
The engineer and assistant conductor were both injured in the crash.
Authorities also obtained surveillance video of the derailment from a nearby bridge, but the picture was of low quality, he added.
Officials have identified the deceased as Donna Smith, 54, James Lovell, 58, James Ferrari, 59, and Ahn Kisook, 35. Three of the dead were found outside the train, and one was found inside.
Of the 150 or so who were on board, 11 remain critically injured.
One man suffered a spinal cord injury that could leave him paralyzed from the neck down, a doctor told CNN.
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Authorities have begun an investigation into the causes of Sunday’s train crash in the Bronx area of New York City in which four people were killed and more than 60 injured.
The 05:54 from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central Station derailed as it went into a bend in the railway line near Spuyten Duyvil station.
Reports say it was travelling faster than the speed limit in the area.
The train’s event recorder, similar to a flight recorder, has been recovered.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sent investigators to the site with instructions to inspect the overturned cars and interpret information from the recorder.
The Federal Railroad Administration has also sent their own team of investigators.
Officials have identified the deceased as Donna Smith, 54, James Lovell, 58, James Ferrari, 59, and Ahn Kisook, 35. Three of the dead were found outside the train, and one was found inside.
NTSB board member Earl Weener said his teams would be on site for several days documenting evidence.
“Our mission is not just to understand what happened, but why it happened, with the intent of preventing it happening again,” he said.
On Monday, a second data recorder was found in the train’s rear locomotive. Earl Weener said investigators hoped to download information on the speed and settings of the train from that recorder.
The Metro-North train from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central Station derailed as it went into a bend in the railway line near Spuyten Duyvil station
Some 26,000 weekday riders on the railroad were warned to brace for crowded trains during the first morning commute after the derailment.
Train service south of Spuyten Duyvil is “suspended until further notice”, the train’s operator, Metro-North, said on Monday morning. Buses were being provided to the New York subway system.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said the bend where the derailment occurred was in a slow-speed area.
The train appeared to be going “a lot faster” than normal as it approached the bend coming into the station, passenger Frank Tatulli told WABC-TV.
The speed limit on the curve is 30 mph, compared with 70 mph in the area approaching it, Earl Weener said.
An official from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is quoted by the New York Times as saying that the train operator had reported that it was going into the turn too fast and that he had performed an emergency braking maneuver.
The operator told the first rescuers to reach the scene that he had “dumped” the brakes, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Dumping the brakes is said to be a last-resort move that has the effect of slamming on the emergency brakes on all the cars of a train at once. It is usually done to avert a collision with another train or a vehicle at a grade-level crossing, the New York Times reports.
A 2008 federal rail-safety law requires commuter and freight rail lines to install systems to prevent derailing caused by excessive speed, known as positive train control, by the end of 2015.
Metro-North is in the process of installing the technology.
A section of line between the Bronx and part of Westchester County could be closed for a week or more and New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo warned commuters to expect long delays.
Metro-North serves commuters from New York City’s northern suburbs. It is not part of the New York City subway system.
The accident was the second passenger train derailment this year for the rail service, which, until Sunday, had never experienced a passenger death in an accident in its 31-year history.
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At least four people have been killed and 63 injured in a passenger train crash in the Bronx area of New York City.
Eleven of the injured are believed to be in a critical condition in hospital.
The Metro-North train’s locomotive and carriages derailed as the train went into a bend in the railway line near Spuyten Duyvil station.
At least one eyewitness said the train – the 05:54 from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central Station – was travelling much faster than normal at the time.
None of the carriages went into the adjacent Hudson or Harlem rivers – although pictures from the scene suggest this nearly happened.
The train appeared to be going “a lot faster” than normal as it approached the curve coming into the station, passenger Frank Tatulli told WABC-TV.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said the curve where the derailment occurred was in a slow speed area, and that the train’s black box recorder should be able to tell how fast the train was travelling.
The Metro-North train’s locomotive and carriages derailed as the train went into a bend in the railway line near Spuyten Duyvil station
Joel Zaritsky was travelling on the train to attend a dental convention in New York City.
“I was asleep and I woke up when the car started rolling several times,” he told the Associated Press news agency.
“Then I saw the gravel coming at me, and I heard people screaming. There was smoke everywhere and debris. People were thrown to the other side of the train.”
Speaking to the media near the scene, New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo confirmed the casualty figures, adding that the authorities believed everyone at the site has been accounted for and that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was en route to the area to begin an investigation.
“It’s obviously a very tragic situation,” he said.
“The first order of business is to care for the people who were on the train… we’ll wait to see what the NTSB says before speculating as to any causes.”
Metro-North is a rail service that serves commuters from New York City’s northern suburbs. It is not part of the New York City subway system.
Sunday’s accident is the second passenger train derailment this year for the rail service.
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