National Transportation Safety Board Issues Interim Report on Harlem Line Tragedy

The National Transportation Safety Board today issued a preliminary report on the Harlem Line train crash of Feb. 3.

At the outset, NTSB investigators warned, “The information in this report is preliminary and will be supplemented or corrected during the course of the investigation.”

Most of the information in the very short report repeated information the NTSB gave out during the first week of the investigation, when the team was on the scene in Mount Pleasant.

It does provide a little more detail about where the electrified third rail entered the first train car: ”The third rail detached, pierced the SUV, and then entered the railcar in two locations from the underside at the aft end of the left side passenger doorway. The train and SUV came to rest about 650 feet from the point of collision.”

According to the report, investigators will conduct a metallurgical examination of some of the third rail. Samples from the interior of the lead train car will also be examined by NTSB investigators for compliance with fire protection standards.

And it contained a formal declaration: the parties to the investigation include the Federal Railroad Administration, Metro-North Railroad, the Association of Commuter Rail Employees, the Town of Mount Pleasant, and the New York Public Transportation Safety Board.

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PHOTO: PRELIMINARY REPORT RAILROAD DCA15MR006/NTSB