Updated Dec. 2, 2013 8:03 p.m. ET
National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener said Monday that the Metro-North Railroad train that derailed was traveling at 82 mph just before it crashed on a curve in the Bronx. (Photo: AP)
NEW YORK—Federal investigators said the commuter train that crashed Sunday, killing four people, was going 82 miles an hour as it entered a 30-mph zone along a tight curve and that there was no apparent problem with its brakes.
Investigators are focused on two potential causes for the Metro-North Railroad crash: human error or a mechanical problem, said Earl Weener, a National Transportation Safety Board member. Investigators checked the train's brakes, Mr. Weener said, and weren't "aware of any problems or anomalies." Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) said the tracks appeared to be in working condition.
Crews remove derailed cars Monday from the Metro-North crash in the Bronx borough of New York, which killed four and left more than 70 injured. Reuters
The passenger deaths were the first in the 30-year history of Metro-North, the commuter-rail system serving New York City's northern suburbs and parts of Connecticut. More than 70 people were injured and at least 20 remained in hospitals Monday, law-enforcement officials said.
The disclosure of the train's speed came as investigators scrutinized the actions of its engineer, William Rockefeller, a veteran Metro-North driver. Mr. Rockefeller told people on the scene that he had "dumped the brakes"—in which the train's brake pressure is released at once to engage the brakes in an emergency maneuver.
Investigators also found that the throttle speed had been reduced to zero. Mr. Weener said investigators hadn't determined whether the reduction of the throttle and the release of all brake pressure were intentional or a result of the derailment.
Cranes lift a derailed Metro-North train car in the Bronx borough of New York on Monday. Associated Press
The change in the throttle position happened six seconds before the locomotive stopped, Mr. Weener said, which he called "very late in the game."
The lead car of the seven-car train, which was being pushed by a locomotive in the rear, nearly skidded into the water next to the tracks where the Harlem and Hudson rivers meet, an area of turbulent waters known as Spuyten Duyvil.
The train's velocity indicates that it already was speeding before it reached the curve. The speed limit along the curve is 30 mph and 70 mph in the stretch of track before the turn. The train should have been slowing well before it entered the curve, people familiar with the investigation said.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the sharp turn "tricky," but said the curve wasn't the cause. "It's going to turn out to be the speed, more than anything, and the operator's operation of the train at that time," he said Monday.
Mr. Weener said the train had made nine station stops before the accident. "We need to understand how the brake system was working throughout that part of the trip," he said. "At this point we are not aware of any problems or anomalies with the brakes."
Mr. Weener said Mr. Rockefeller was interviewed Monday and that interviews would continue over the next several days. Mr. Rockefeller was tested for drugs and alcohol and his cellphone was being reviewed by forensic investigators, Mr. Weener said, but no results were available. Mr. Rockefeller couldn't be reached for comment.
The NTSB's findings are preliminary and investigators still were reviewing data from two onboard data recorders.
The train's speed could renew debate over the timing of the costly anticrash systems that Metro-North and other railroads are legally required to install by the end of 2015. Those systems, known as "positive train control," are designed to spot a train speeding or running the risk of a collision with another train and automatically slow it or bring it to a stop.
[h=4]Metro-North Train Derails in New York, Killing Four[/h]
Associated Press
Shuttle buses transport commuters between the Yonkers train station and 1 subway train at Van Cortlandt Park-242 Sreet in the Bronx on Monday morning. Adrienne Grunwald for The Wall Street Journal
The 2008 mandate was triggered in part by a high-profile train accident that year: the collision of a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train in Chatsworth, Calif., that killed 24 passengers and the driver of the Metrolink train.
An NTSB investigation concluded that the Metrolink driver had run a red stop signal and collided with the freight train head-on; around the time of the crash, the driver had been exchanging text messages with a friend, the NTSB reported.
Metro-North and other transit agencies have argued they already have adequate safety measures and are pushing to delay the date to implement positive train control. Disagreements over the issue were evident at an NTSB briefing on Monday.
Mr. Schumer said he would wait for the investigation's outcome before saying whether he would press railroads to meet the deadline. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) was adamant that the deadline be met. "Certainly this incident heightens the importance of additional safety measures like that one," he said. "Additional delay is not in the interest of rail safety."
A spokeswoman for Metro-North said the railroad hasn't acquired the radio spectrum it needs to operate a PTC system in some parts of Connecticut and upstate New York.
"We're still shopping," said the spokeswoman, Marjorie Andersd.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that oversees Metro-North, approved a $428 million contract with a consortium of Bombardier Transportation and Siemens Rail Automation to design and implement PTC systems for Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road.
The Metro-North spokeswoman didn't comment on the possible cause of the derailment, citing the continuing NTSB investigation. But she said: "If the accident was caused by speeding, PTC would have stopped it."
Versions of PTC are already in use, including on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor between New Haven and Boston.
—Mike Vilensky and Erica Orden contributed to this article.
Write to Ted Mann at [email protected]
National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener said Monday that the Metro-North Railroad train that derailed was traveling at 82 mph just before it crashed on a curve in the Bronx. (Photo: AP)
NEW YORK—Federal investigators said the commuter train that crashed Sunday, killing four people, was going 82 miles an hour as it entered a 30-mph zone along a tight curve and that there was no apparent problem with its brakes.
Investigators are focused on two potential causes for the Metro-North Railroad crash: human error or a mechanical problem, said Earl Weener, a National Transportation Safety Board member. Investigators checked the train's brakes, Mr. Weener said, and weren't "aware of any problems or anomalies." Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) said the tracks appeared to be in working condition.
Crews remove derailed cars Monday from the Metro-North crash in the Bronx borough of New York, which killed four and left more than 70 injured. Reuters
The passenger deaths were the first in the 30-year history of Metro-North, the commuter-rail system serving New York City's northern suburbs and parts of Connecticut. More than 70 people were injured and at least 20 remained in hospitals Monday, law-enforcement officials said.
The disclosure of the train's speed came as investigators scrutinized the actions of its engineer, William Rockefeller, a veteran Metro-North driver. Mr. Rockefeller told people on the scene that he had "dumped the brakes"—in which the train's brake pressure is released at once to engage the brakes in an emergency maneuver.
Investigators also found that the throttle speed had been reduced to zero. Mr. Weener said investigators hadn't determined whether the reduction of the throttle and the release of all brake pressure were intentional or a result of the derailment.
Cranes lift a derailed Metro-North train car in the Bronx borough of New York on Monday. Associated Press
The change in the throttle position happened six seconds before the locomotive stopped, Mr. Weener said, which he called "very late in the game."
The lead car of the seven-car train, which was being pushed by a locomotive in the rear, nearly skidded into the water next to the tracks where the Harlem and Hudson rivers meet, an area of turbulent waters known as Spuyten Duyvil.
The train's velocity indicates that it already was speeding before it reached the curve. The speed limit along the curve is 30 mph and 70 mph in the stretch of track before the turn. The train should have been slowing well before it entered the curve, people familiar with the investigation said.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the sharp turn "tricky," but said the curve wasn't the cause. "It's going to turn out to be the speed, more than anything, and the operator's operation of the train at that time," he said Monday.
Mr. Weener said the train had made nine station stops before the accident. "We need to understand how the brake system was working throughout that part of the trip," he said. "At this point we are not aware of any problems or anomalies with the brakes."
Mr. Weener said Mr. Rockefeller was interviewed Monday and that interviews would continue over the next several days. Mr. Rockefeller was tested for drugs and alcohol and his cellphone was being reviewed by forensic investigators, Mr. Weener said, but no results were available. Mr. Rockefeller couldn't be reached for comment.
The NTSB's findings are preliminary and investigators still were reviewing data from two onboard data recorders.
The train's speed could renew debate over the timing of the costly anticrash systems that Metro-North and other railroads are legally required to install by the end of 2015. Those systems, known as "positive train control," are designed to spot a train speeding or running the risk of a collision with another train and automatically slow it or bring it to a stop.
[h=4]Metro-North Train Derails in New York, Killing Four[/h]
Associated Press
Shuttle buses transport commuters between the Yonkers train station and 1 subway train at Van Cortlandt Park-242 Sreet in the Bronx on Monday morning. Adrienne Grunwald for The Wall Street Journal
The 2008 mandate was triggered in part by a high-profile train accident that year: the collision of a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train in Chatsworth, Calif., that killed 24 passengers and the driver of the Metrolink train.
An NTSB investigation concluded that the Metrolink driver had run a red stop signal and collided with the freight train head-on; around the time of the crash, the driver had been exchanging text messages with a friend, the NTSB reported.
Metro-North and other transit agencies have argued they already have adequate safety measures and are pushing to delay the date to implement positive train control. Disagreements over the issue were evident at an NTSB briefing on Monday.
Mr. Schumer said he would wait for the investigation's outcome before saying whether he would press railroads to meet the deadline. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) was adamant that the deadline be met. "Certainly this incident heightens the importance of additional safety measures like that one," he said. "Additional delay is not in the interest of rail safety."
A spokeswoman for Metro-North said the railroad hasn't acquired the radio spectrum it needs to operate a PTC system in some parts of Connecticut and upstate New York.
"We're still shopping," said the spokeswoman, Marjorie Andersd.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that oversees Metro-North, approved a $428 million contract with a consortium of Bombardier Transportation and Siemens Rail Automation to design and implement PTC systems for Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road.
The Metro-North spokeswoman didn't comment on the possible cause of the derailment, citing the continuing NTSB investigation. But she said: "If the accident was caused by speeding, PTC would have stopped it."
Versions of PTC are already in use, including on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor between New Haven and Boston.
—Mike Vilensky and Erica Orden contributed to this article.
Write to Ted Mann at [email protected]