Answers sought after N.Y. trains' collision

Investigators and workers survey the scene Sunday where an eastbound Long Island Rail Road commuter train derailed after striking a work train in New Hyde Park, N.Y., on Saturday night.
Investigators and workers survey the scene Sunday where an eastbound Long Island Rail Road commuter train derailed after striking a work train in New Hyde Park, N.Y., on Saturday night.

NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y. -- A 12-car commuter train and a work train performing track maintenance were traveling the same direction Saturday night when they sideswiped each other, causing the commuter train to derail and injuring 33 people, state officials said Sunday.

The collision of the two eastbound trains sheared chunks off the commuter train's cars, several of which derailed just east of New Hyde Park station in Nassau County, N.Y., in a remote area on a hill about 22 miles east of New York City. Emergency workers used ladders to rescue injured and frightened passengers who were stuck in the darkened cars for nearly an hour.

"When you look at the actual damage of the situation, the silver lining is we're fortunate that more people weren't severely hurt," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday at a news conference at the scene of the crash. Behind him, three of the 12 commuter cars sat tipped at odd angles on the track, with deep gashes in the steel visible along the length of the Long Island Rail Road train. "The damage to the train cars is extensive, and we had a number of injuries. But frankly, that we didn't lose any life is something to be thankful for."

Four people were seriously injured, including one passenger with multiple broken bones and a worker who suffered cuts, Metropolitan Transit Authority Chairman Thomas Prendergast said. The transit authority runs the Long Island Rail Road.

Five Long Island Rail Road employees on the commuter train and two on the work train were among the injured.

"Both trains were running in the same direction -- one was a work train, one was a revenue train, and they sideswiped each other," Cuomo said. "The question is why."

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating, and the cause of the collision is not yet known. The maintenance train entered the track space of the commuter train Saturday night on the Oyster Bay line. The Long Island Rail Road train was likely traveling faster than the work train when they collided, Prendergast said.

The crash closed the line in both directions. Officials plan to reopen it today, at least partially.

"There was definitely a moment when it happened that you were like, 'All right, I'm dead,'" said Liana Salgado, 19. She said she was on her way back from New York Comic Con with friends when the train gave a tremendous jolt, sending her coffee flying. She said she injured her shoulder but refused medical treatment.

The crash came just over a week after a New Jersey Transit commuter train barreled into the station wall at Hoboken Terminal in New Jersey, killing one person and injuring more than 100. Officials have said that train accelerated dramatically as it pulled into the station, rather than slowing down. The investigation into that crash is ongoing.

On the tracks outside New Hyde Park, yellow paint was splattered on a commuter car, the contents of the maintenance train that had hit it, officials said.

"Issues with trains colliding with other trains or other objects occur on railroads all the time," Prendergast said Sunday. "Why it ended up where it did -- violating the clearance of the other track -- that's what we need to find out in the investigation."

Craig Heller, one of 600 passengers aboard the Long Island Rail Road train Saturday night, said his car started shaking suddenly after the collision.

"The car was shaking back and forth and back and forth," he said. "We felt like we could actually completely tilt over while it was happening. That was a fear."

Ray Martel, 41, a radio producer who lives in West Hempstead, N.Y., was on the train when it came to a screeching, shuddering halt. He described himself as shaken but unharmed. The accident, combined with the episode in Hoboken, has made him concerned about how safe trains are.

Long Island Rail Road trains have been involved in 72 accidents since Jan. 1, 2011, according to federal data, including three collisions and 15 derailments on tracks used for passenger service.

"I think we need to spend more money on infrastructure; we need more safety features," Martel said. "I'm not scared to ride them, but now I think we need to make this a priority."

Information for this article was contributed by Sarah Maslin Nir and Emily Palmer of The New York Times and by staff members of The Associated Press.

A Section on 10/10/2016

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