Pascack Valley Line Train May Have Been Speeding During Fatal Hoboken Crash: Report

A Pascack Valley Line train that originated in Spring Valley and crashed into Hoboken Terminal last week – killing a woman and injuring more than 100 others – may have been traveling between 20 and 30 miles per hour when it collided with the station, a report says.

On Tuesday, an unnamed “U.S. official” speaking on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that the 20 to 30 mph estimate was based on the extent of the damage, not on data from the train's instruments.
The speed limit at the station is 10 miles per hour, the official said.

The engineer of the train told investigators that he has "no memory" of the crash and that he felt "fully rested," according to Bella Dinh-Zarr, vice-chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board.
"He remembers waking up on the floor of the cab," she said.

Also, the event recorder, the so-called "black box" which was built in 1995, was not working - possibly because "that's quite an old event recorder." NTSB officials are working to recover a second recorder that likely remains inside the wreckage at the now-closed train station, according to Dinh-Zahr.

Meanwhile, service remains suspended on Metro-North's Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines running from Orange and Rockland Counties via NJ Transit to Hoboken.

NJ Transit's Oct. 4 update:

• All service into and out of Hoboken remains suspended. Hudson Bergen Light Rail service has resumed full service.
• All New York City bound trains (Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line, MidTOWN DIRECT), Raritan Valley and Atlantic City lines will operate on a normal weekday schedules.
• Main, Bergen, Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines will continue to operate on a weekend schedule originating/terminating in Secaucus.
• There will be limited rail shuttle service on the Montclair-Boonton Line west of Montclair State University.
• There will be rail shuttle service on the M&E between Hackettstown and Dover.
• The Gladstone branch will have its two regularly scheduled MidTOWN DIRECT trains in addition to rail shuttles between Gladstone and Summit.
• Customers may experience overcrowding and possible delays caused by congestion.
• Customers who need access to Secaucus are urged to take trains from New York Penn Station.
• Hoboken Ferry service is now operating. PATH and Ferries are cross honoring NJT customers.
• Metro-North is honoring all Pascack Valley and Port Jervis Line rail tickets until further notice.

In addition, Metro-North is providing the following alternate weekday service plan until further notice:

Bus Service Option

In addition to the train service provided by NJTRANSIT, MTA Metro-North will provide supplemental shuttle bus service for Metro-North customers that will operate during peak hours as follows:

• Harriman Station (to Tarrytown Station on the Hudson Line) between 3:45 A.M. and 8:30 A.M. (Inbound service) and 3:45 P.M. and 8:30 P.M. (outbound service from Grand Central Terminal)

This weekday, rush-hour, peak direction only shuttle service will be limited. There will be no off-peak, weekend or reverse commute service.

Ferry Service Options

Some parking is available for Metro-North customers at the two Metro-North ferry services that connect with the Hudson Line train service.

Newburgh-Beacon Ferry Service

Haverstraw-Ossining Ferry Service

Parking Options

Some parking is available at Metro-North's Cortlandt Station on the Hudson Line and the North White Plains Station on the Harlem Line. You can also access parking information online for other stations at Metro-North's parking info page .

Other Options

Use existing bus services: From Rockland the Tappan ZEExpress; from Orange County use the Newburgh Beacon Shuttle.

By Eric Kiefer (Patch Staff) Patch Editor Lanning Taliaferro contributed to this report.

Photo: John Tachine