Metro-North Crash Brings New Trouble Amid String of Setbacks for Railroad (NY)

[LiberalElite]

Source: NY Times

For Metro-North Railroad, the once-unthinkable has happened twice in 14 months.

The fatal, fiery crash on Tuesday evening in Valhalla, N.Y., arrived amid a protracted reckoning for the beleaguered railroad — wrought by a series of stumbles since 2013 across a system that had, over three decades, forged a reputation as one of the country’s most reliable.

Before Tuesday, the most devastating crash had occurred at Spuyten Duyvil in the Bronx in December 2013, when four passengers were killed and more than 70 others were injured in a derailment on the Hudson line.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/04/nyregion/metro-north-crash-brings-new-trouble-amid-string-of-setbacks-for-railroad.html?_r=0

[BeyondGeography]

1. Pretty lame for the NYT

This was not a self-inflicted wound, unlike every other incident cited in the article. Weak.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. So how is this accident Metro-North's fault?

I must have missed that part.

[Historic NY]

3. Another incident w/o the same outcome.....

Really its not as if you can't see the train or better yet feel it....these are flat grade crossings with good visibility.



Driver of car ticketed after colliding with train in Tuxedo

Kieran P. Barry of Greenwood Lake was issued summonses for allegedly obstructing a railroad crossing in Tuxedo after a commuter train struck her Mercedes Benz as it attempted to cross the tracks in Tuxedo on Friday. The accident took place around 4 p.m., said Tuxedo Police Chief Patrick Welsh.

Barry, an employee of SOS Fuels in Tuxedo, was not injured in the accident but the front of the car was smashed and the car totaled, Welsh said.

Traffic was apparently backed up at the crossing and Barry was not able to reverse her car as the train came rolling on the tracks. The barrier gate came down on her car, Welsh said.

The train was operated by New Jersey Transit on behalf of Metro-North Railroad.

"Most accidents of this kind do not end well," said MTA Police spokeswoman Marjorie Anders. "She was alone in the car."

A penalty will be determined by a judge depending on whether Barry pleads guilty or goes to court, said

[leftynyc]

4. The blame for this one is not Metro North

It seems this woman got caught on the tracks (I'm guessing she tried to get across the tracks before the gates came down - I see this every single day). I've been taking Metro North for almost 24 years and consider it the most reliable commuter railroad I've ever been on (way better than the LIRR even though run by the same MTA).

[turbinetree]

5. Europe

This railway system in this country is the most dangerous in the world, with all of the crossing guards that can be by-passed, defective crossing gates, lights, bells you name it.
If memory serves me correctly in Europe, most passenger cars have a method of a bridge going over the tracks for vehicles and passenger or the tracks go underground, they don't cross roads.
I realize that the tracks in this country were put into place by the by-gone barons of the past, but
lets really think about this, the infrastructure in this country is really bad in fact it sucks, with no money being spent to up-grade this infrastructure because of the present right wing Paul Ryan budget bills and he wants more AYN RAND austerity measurers.
You have a sitting governors that stopped construction of a tunnel for AMTRAK.
NEW JERESY little pandering governor is out gallivanting around the world on some else's dime and the state having a 3 billion dollar debt problem, that can fix this mess---I mean really.
Wisconsin's little oligarpghy fascists governor put the indefinite hold on a high speed train service construction to Chicago, while his right wing state has not created the 250,000 per year jobs he promised. Then lets not forget Florida, and the criminal in chief done there and the high speed train issue and its construction----its not happening.
The list goes on and on, this accident even when it is extremely tragic should be a wake up call that we have got to get in place the correct infrastructure re-building that is needed to bring this country into the new century.
To think that if a elevated mono rail system was in place above the ground for the commuters this accident would not have happened

[Historic NY]

7. thousands of grade level crossings were fixed

from the 30's into the present day from total reconstruction to eliminations of grade levels highway crossings. Modern advances in approachs, signals, etc... None of this works when people are too GD stupid to follow the signs, signals and sounds warning them. In other words people will still ignore them, why, because they think they can make it or they refuse to wait.

Mono Rails work better in Europe because the countries and land mass is smaller. These tracks run on tracks and ROW (right of ways) established back in advent of steam trains in 1831 in NY State. Along the Hudson River tracks were carved out from the mountains that lined the banks. It would be nearly impossible to fix everyone w/o the inconvenience of landowners, residents... etc.

For example in the 1920's - 40's the RR eliminated one little hamlet in my town to make the state highway safer. CSX has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars fixing, repairing and replacing outdated signals along their tracks here, but people still will go around them.

Sometimes you just can't fix stupid no matter how much money you throw at a problem.

[HappyMe]

6. The MTA isn't responsible here.

The woman in the car is.