Safety Board Announces Cause Of 2017 Train Derailment

RYE, NY — The National Transportation Safety Board announced Wednesday the cause of the 2017 derailment in Rye of a Metro-North commuter train. The train had originated in Stamford, Connecticut, and was headed for Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan May 18, 2017, when it derailed shortly before 5 p.m.

The safety board determined that the probable cause of the derailment was the engineer of the train failing to remember that a 10-mph temporary speed restriction was in effect.

The train was being operated at 55.9 mph into a 10-mph speed-restricted area, the NTSB said.

Train No. 1373 had 12 cars, five of which derailed at milepost 24.55 near a bridge on main track 3 of the New Haven Line in Rye.

The NTSB said the train carried 185 passengers, 12 of whom suffered minor injuries.

One conductor and three assistant conductors also reported minor injuries.

Also contributing, the safety board said, was the engineer's failure to communicate the temporary speed restriction to the conductor who could have reminded the engineer of the upcoming speed restriction.

There was also no fully operational positive train control system, which would have stopped the train in advance of the speed-restricted area.

At the time of the accident, track 1 was out of service, so the number of of trains operating on track 3 increased from 85 to 104 per day.

Normally, the maximum authorized speed on the four main tracks is 70 mph.

A possible track condition was reported at 1:20 p.m. the day of the derailment. Inspectors went to the location and found the track was misaligned. Repairs were made and the track was returned to normal operating speed at 2:02 p.m.

However, another train's engineer reported a "real nasty kink in the rail" at the location shortly before 3 p.m.

The speed was lowered to 15 mph and then to 10 mph before the derailment.

Positive train control, which might have prevented the derailment, was not fully operational where the accident occurred, according to the NTSB. Metro-North filed for a 2018 target date for full implementation, but later certified it would fully implement positive train control on or before Dec. 31, 2020.

The New Haven Line is equipped with a train control system, but temporary speed restrictions are not currently being enforced. They will be when positive train control is fully operational, the NTSB said.

For the full report by the National Transportation Safety Board, go here.

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