MTA crash: 60 injured from Damaged train later on the incident train, cars and debris were being removed from the Metro-North tracks in Bridgeport, Conn. Sunday morning as investigators continued to probe a train collision that sent 72 people to the hospital, officials said.
Aaron Donovan, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash on the New Haven line, gave Metro-North the OK to remove the trains. Hundreds of feet of track need to be repaired, he said. Newsday reports
"We have a lot of work ahead of us, to restore signals and overhead wires," Donovan said.
Later Sunday, the Connecticut Department of Transportation will announce jointly with Metro-North a plan for the rush-hour commute beginning Monday, but Connecticut and federal officials urged riders to look for another way to get to their destinations
It remains unclear when service will be restored to the area and commuters need to "start making alternative plans" for Monday morning, said Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy.
Investigators are looking at a broken section of rail to see if it is connected to the Friday derailment and collision outside the city that left dozens injured. Nine remain hospitalized Sunday after an eastbound train from New York City derailed and was hit by a westbound train.
Service has been suspended between South Norwalk and New Haven, which includes stops at 12 stations.
Donovan compared the loss of service to a "very significant storm."
Earl Weener, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the investigation is expected to run from seven to 10 days.
The accident occurred at about 6 p.m. and passengers described a chaotic, terrifying moment of crunching metal and flying bodies. The two trains were carrying about 700 people.
A member of the NTSB said Saturday that a fractured section of rail will be sent to a lab for analysis. Officials also said that the incident was not the result of foul play.
It's not clear if the accident caused the fracture or if the rail was broken before the crash, Weener said. He emphasized Saturday that the investigation is in its early stages and said he won't speculate on the cause of the derailment. Data recorders on board are expected to provide the speed of the Metro-North trains at the time of the crash and other information, he said.
Investigators are also inspecting the individual train cars, combing the length of the tracks near the accident site, analyzing maintenance records and inspecting the last train to pass safely over the section of track where the accident occurred, in the hopes of gleaning information on what caused the derailment.
Government officials who toured the wreckage Saturday said they expressed disbelief that no one had been killed.
Having inspected the crash site, Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal spoke of "tons of metal tossed around like toy things" and called the damage "absolutely staggering."
"I can say we are fortunate that even more injuries were not the result of this very tragic and unfortunate accident," Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal credited the investment in infrastructure and newly-constructed cars for saving lives and preventing more injuries.
The cars involved in the crash are state-of-the-art, Weener said.
"This is the first time a car like this has been involved in this kind of accident; by all appearances, they responded well," Weener said.
While the cars are the new M8 models, introduced in 2011, the tracks on sections of the New Haven Line are old-fashioned jointed rails, said Anthony Bottalico, general chairman of the Association of Commuter Rail Employees.
The older jointed rails are bolted together, and prone to cracking, he said. Jointed rails are generally used on lower-speed lines and are responsible for rhythmic clicking sound associated with older trains. The rest of the Metro-North system -- and most modern railroads -- use ribbon rail, also known as continuously welded rail, Bottalico said.
"In my opinion, it's definitely track-related," Bottalico said of the derailment, calling the jointed tracks "a more antiquated rail system."
The crash and its disruption to the busy Northeast corridor could end up costing millions of dollars, Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch told The Associated Press.
"A lot of people rely on this, and we've got to get this reconnected as soon as possible," Finch said.
The last significant train collision involving Metro-North occurred in 1988 when a train engineer was killed in Mount Vernon, N.Y., when one train empty of passengers rear-ended another, railroad officials said.
Aaron Donovan, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash on the New Haven line, gave Metro-North the OK to remove the trains. Hundreds of feet of track need to be repaired, he said. Newsday reports
"We have a lot of work ahead of us, to restore signals and overhead wires," Donovan said.
Later Sunday, the Connecticut Department of Transportation will announce jointly with Metro-North a plan for the rush-hour commute beginning Monday, but Connecticut and federal officials urged riders to look for another way to get to their destinations
It remains unclear when service will be restored to the area and commuters need to "start making alternative plans" for Monday morning, said Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy.
Investigators are looking at a broken section of rail to see if it is connected to the Friday derailment and collision outside the city that left dozens injured. Nine remain hospitalized Sunday after an eastbound train from New York City derailed and was hit by a westbound train.
Service has been suspended between South Norwalk and New Haven, which includes stops at 12 stations.
Donovan compared the loss of service to a "very significant storm."
Earl Weener, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the investigation is expected to run from seven to 10 days.
The accident occurred at about 6 p.m. and passengers described a chaotic, terrifying moment of crunching metal and flying bodies. The two trains were carrying about 700 people.
A member of the NTSB said Saturday that a fractured section of rail will be sent to a lab for analysis. Officials also said that the incident was not the result of foul play.
It's not clear if the accident caused the fracture or if the rail was broken before the crash, Weener said. He emphasized Saturday that the investigation is in its early stages and said he won't speculate on the cause of the derailment. Data recorders on board are expected to provide the speed of the Metro-North trains at the time of the crash and other information, he said.
Investigators are also inspecting the individual train cars, combing the length of the tracks near the accident site, analyzing maintenance records and inspecting the last train to pass safely over the section of track where the accident occurred, in the hopes of gleaning information on what caused the derailment.
Government officials who toured the wreckage Saturday said they expressed disbelief that no one had been killed.
Having inspected the crash site, Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal spoke of "tons of metal tossed around like toy things" and called the damage "absolutely staggering."
"I can say we are fortunate that even more injuries were not the result of this very tragic and unfortunate accident," Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal credited the investment in infrastructure and newly-constructed cars for saving lives and preventing more injuries.
The cars involved in the crash are state-of-the-art, Weener said.
"This is the first time a car like this has been involved in this kind of accident; by all appearances, they responded well," Weener said.
While the cars are the new M8 models, introduced in 2011, the tracks on sections of the New Haven Line are old-fashioned jointed rails, said Anthony Bottalico, general chairman of the Association of Commuter Rail Employees.
The older jointed rails are bolted together, and prone to cracking, he said. Jointed rails are generally used on lower-speed lines and are responsible for rhythmic clicking sound associated with older trains. The rest of the Metro-North system -- and most modern railroads -- use ribbon rail, also known as continuously welded rail, Bottalico said.
"In my opinion, it's definitely track-related," Bottalico said of the derailment, calling the jointed tracks "a more antiquated rail system."
The crash and its disruption to the busy Northeast corridor could end up costing millions of dollars, Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch told The Associated Press.
"A lot of people rely on this, and we've got to get this reconnected as soon as possible," Finch said.
The last significant train collision involving Metro-North occurred in 1988 when a train engineer was killed in Mount Vernon, N.Y., when one train empty of passengers rear-ended another, railroad officials said.