# Metro-North train collides with car at grade crossing



## Paulus (Feb 3, 2015)

At least twelve injuries, no report on severity or if there were any fatalities. The fire (which appears to have heavily damaged two M7s) is rather surprising given that these were EMUs. I imagine a gas tank detached and wound up underneath the train with the third rail sparking it, but we'll end up seeing. Also a bit surprised at the incident involving two different cars.


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## spacecadet (Feb 3, 2015)

Well, one M7 looks completely gutted. The second doesn't look damaged to me. Hopefully everyone got out of the lead car.

Until we find out if the grade crossing malfunctioned, I'm going to assume that these were idiots trying to beat the train. It's all too common around here.


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## Paulus (Feb 3, 2015)

Article has been updated. Only one car, six fatalities including the car driver



> Donovan said in a statement that the crossing gates came down on top of the Jeep, which had stopped on the tracks. The driver got out to look at the rear of the car, he said, then got back in and drove forward, where she was struck.


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## Herman (Feb 3, 2015)

OK, here we go again with the press reporting the Metro North train hit a car. Very rarely trains leave their tracks and hit cars. It was a car on the track at a grade crossing. As said above electric locomotives carry no fuel. Where did the fire get it's start - very likley from the car's gas tank.


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## SarahZ (Feb 3, 2015)

Herman said:


> OK, here we go again with the press reporting the Metro North train hit a car. Very rarely trains leave their tracks and hit cars. It was a car on the track at a grade crossing. As said above electric locomotives carry no fuel. Where did the fire get it's start - very likley from the car's gas tank.


 But the train did hit a car that was stopped on the tracks. The sentence is grammatically correct. You can't say the car hit the train because the car was not moving and did not strike the train.

Saying the train hit the car does *not* imply the train was at-fault, as many people like to believe; it's simply the correct way to phrase the sentence.

Do you say a bat hit the ball or that the ball hit the bat?


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## OlympianHiawatha (Feb 3, 2015)

WNBC is reporting the Third Rail literally Snakeheaded and cut through the floor of Car 1 after it hit the SUV.


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## oldtimer (Feb 3, 2015)

Fatality report up to 7. Car was probably stuck as it drove off the crossing, driver was killed even though she was outside of the SUV.


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## OlympianHiawatha (Feb 4, 2015)

oldtimer said:


> Fatality report up to 7. Car was probably stuck as it drove off the crossing, driver was killed even though she was outside of the SUV.


Moments ago the toll was lowered back to 6.


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## Guest (Feb 4, 2015)

Does anyone know for sure, what type of vehicle it was? Some news sources say "Jeep Cherokee", some say "Mercedes SUV", and even CNN headlines "Jeep" but says "Mercedes" in their story.


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## crabby_appleton1950 (Feb 4, 2015)

oldtimer said:


> ..... driver was killed even though she was outside of the SUV.


" ....the woman was outside her car frantically waving at the train to stop at the time of crash."

So, I'm guessing she thought she could stop the train from hitting her car_???_


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## jis (Feb 4, 2015)

Maybe it is now time to change the "two cars" in the title to "one car", now that we know that with certainty.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/fatal-train-crash-metro-north-history-unfolded/story?id=28717047

Here in Space Coast in Florida, in the land of hundred grade crossings across the FEC main line, which will soon see as many as 36 passenger trains a day in addition to the dozen or so FEC freights, occasionally one sees a dufus stop on the track waiting for a traffic signal to change. But most fortunately that is few and far between. Unfortunately it just takes one to wreck havoc.

All trains here will have lcomotives or power heads leading the train, giving an extra measure of protection.

Perhaps the issue of grade crossings in EMU territory needs to be revisited. The MNRR Harlem line has many grade crossing. Such is relatively uncommon/non-existent on the Hudson and New Haven lines. LIRR has several grade crossings on its main line and the Huntington/Port Jeff branch. Many of those are targeted for elimination via construction of underpasses or rerouting through such. But it takes money to get there.


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## jis (Feb 4, 2015)

BTW, haven't seen this mentioned anywhere.... Both the Engineer and the Conductor who were in the full width cab, survived with relatively minor injuries. A passenger who was in a seat in the section between the front quarter doors and the cab, survived completely unscathed. Apparently the major injuries/fatalities were towards the middle of the car where the third rail punctured through the floor. It has been stated in reports that no one was directly hit by the third rail, but the puncture in the floor probably played a role in the fire spreading so quickly within the car.


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## Devil's Advocate (Feb 4, 2015)

"Around 6:30 p.m., there was a line of cars on Commerce Street leading back onto the Taconic, and a witness watched as Ms. Ellen Brody found herself on the wrong side of the crossing bar as it went down."

You're not supposed to enter the crossing without first ensuring you have enough room to exit the crossing in one continuous movement. I honestly cannot imagine a legitimate excuse for getting "caught" on train tracks. Based on the information disseminated so far I really have a hard time feeling sorry for Ellen Brody. Instead I'm feeling a growing sense of anger and disgust over the loss of life and limb caused by her irresponsible behavior.


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## jis (Feb 4, 2015)

What is stranger is that according to some reports, specifically from an interview with a driver in a car that was just behind Ms. Brody's car, that she was caught on the wrong side of the gate but not on the track. She checked for damage to the rear of the SUV and then proceeded to drive onto the track! If that is true that is truly bizarre behavior!


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## AmtrakBlue (Feb 4, 2015)

Not excusing her behavior and the public may never know, but perhaps she had a "traumatic" (to her) incident happen that day and she was not of a clear mind.


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## fairviewroad (Feb 4, 2015)

Obviously this is what investigations are for, but the painfully obvious question is how could a commuter train striking a passenger car/SUV could result in so many deaths? Yes, the driver of the vehicle is at fault, but this should really have been a survivable collision for those on board the train.


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## greatcats (Feb 4, 2015)

Ruptured gas tank in contact with the high voltage of the third rail? I saw some video of the smoke and flames coming out of the lead car.....pretty bad.


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## OlympianHiawatha (Feb 4, 2015)

fairviewroad said:


> Obviously this is what investigations are for, but the painfully obvious question is how could a commuter train striking a passenger car/SUV could result in so many deaths? Yes, the driver of the vehicle is at fault, but this should really have been a survivable collision for those on board the train.


It seems the FRA has been concerned about the survivability of some of the Metro North cars and specifically pointed out the new M8 series as having defective bolts that should *ALL* be replaced. Of course those were not involved in this incident but it sounds like Metro Northis going to be watched closer than a cat watches a mouse hole.


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## MikefromCrete (Feb 4, 2015)

AmtrakBlue said:


> Not excusing her behavior and the public may never know, but perhaps she had a "traumatic" (to her) incident happen that day and she was not of a clear mind.


Then she shouldn't have been driving.


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## MikefromCrete (Feb 4, 2015)

fairviewroad said:


> Obviously this is what investigations are for, but the painfully obvious question is how could a commuter train striking a passenger car/SUV could result in so many deaths? Yes, the driver of the vehicle is at fault, but this should really have been a survivable collision for those on board the train.


The deaths on the train seem to have been caused by the third rail coming through the bottom of the lead car. The engineer and conductor were riding in the control cab and came through the accident alive.


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## TinCan782 (Feb 4, 2015)

jis said:


> What is stranger is that according to some reports, specifically from an interview with a driver in a car that was just behind Ms. Brody's car, that she was caught on the wrong side of the gate but not on the track. She checked for damage to the rear of the SUV and then proceeded to drive onto the track! If that is true that is truly bizarre behavior!


Here "out West", the crossing signal lights start flashing and bells ringing several seconds before the arms come down. Wondering if the lights and bells were flashing and ringing (and the arms not yet down) when she began crossing the track thinking she could make it across. She must have known (well, maybe not) a train was coming when she stopped to check for damage.


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## Paulus (Feb 5, 2015)

Perhaps we should bring back this railroad crossing just to get the point across?







More seriously, I think that the commuter railroads ought to look at upgrading crossings with a moving block, activated perhaps by vehicle detecting cameras, and trigger the crossing gates far enough ahead of time that the train can stop (or at least significantly slow) before a collision. Longer wait time for cars, but that's a downside worth living with.


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## SarahZ (Feb 5, 2015)

Paulus said:


> Perhaps we should bring back this railroad crossing just to get the point across?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I really like that. It would be even better if the skull's eyes glowed red along with the crossing signals.


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## AmtrakBlue (Feb 5, 2015)

MikefromCrete said:


> AmtrakBlue said:
> 
> 
> > Not excusing her behavior and the public may never know, but perhaps she had a "traumatic" (to her) incident happen that day and she was not of a clear mind.
> ...


I agree. But just like someone who DUIs, if you're not clear minded you're not going to think clearly about whether you should be driving or not.


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## spacecadet (Feb 5, 2015)

The two things that I think the investigation's going to focus on are:

1) Why this person was on the track and what more can be done to keep people off the tracks

2) Why the third rail pierced the train car, and what can be done to prevent that

Arguably #2 is more important. Trains hit cars all the time; it shouldn't happen but it does and if you've got hundreds of grade crossings on the line, then the equipment needs to be built for that contingency. Obviously in this case, the track was not. I don't know what the answer is to that - maybe a combination of securing the third rail better, plus burying the ends in the ground? (From what I remember, at grade crossings there's a gap in the rail and so the car probably "caught" one end.)

As for Ellen Brody, I never like to speak ill of the dead but this is a mistake you as a driver just can't make. There's no excuse for being caught on the track when the gates come down. At a lot of grade crossings in this area there are signs to the effect of "do not stop on tracks", but my experience is that a person who doesn't have the common sense to already know that is not going to be persuaded by a little sign. People learn how to drive when they're teenagers and by and large they maintain whatever habits they learn at that time until the day they die. They may slow down a little bit and become more absent-minded as they get older, but they need to be taught the laws and proper driving techniques when they're young or they're just going to keep doing the wrong things because they "never had a problem before". Until they finally do, at which point it's too late both for them and anyone else they inadvertently kill.


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## Devil's Advocate (Feb 5, 2015)

How about if we start putting up signs at crossings with pictures of maimed and charred bodies of folks who were too careless to stay off the tracks? How about we put up names and logos of commercial businesses that operate trucks and machinery which foul the tracks of oncoming trains? I'm not sure if this sort of thing would work but I'd support giving it a try. Sometimes the threat of shame works even better than the threat of death.


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## OlympianHiawatha (Feb 5, 2015)

Someone on WNBC explained sensors that have been around for about 20 years that can detect a vehicle on the tracks at a crossing and flash a signal in the cab, hopefully in time for the Engineer to stop. But he added very few crossings have been equipped with them.


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## OlympianHiawatha (Feb 5, 2015)

spacecadet said:


> As for Ellen Brody, I never like to speak ill of the dead but this is a mistake you as a driver just can't make. There's no excuse for being caught on the track when the gates come down. At a lot of grade crossings in this area there are signs to the effect of "do not stop on tracks", but my experience is that a person who doesn't have the common sense to already know that is not going to be persuaded by a little sign. People learn how to drive when they're teenagers and by and large they maintain whatever habits they learn at that time until the day they die. They may slow down a little bit and become more absent-minded as they get older, but they need to be taught the laws and proper driving techniques when they're young or they're just going to keep doing the wrong things because they "never had a problem before". Until they finally do, at which point it's too late both for them and anyone else they inadvertently kill.


When I took Drivers Ed back in the mid 70s in Illinois, our Instructors warned us during the Wheel portion of the State Exam, the Examiner WILL instantly fail you if you fail to at least look both ways at an otherwise cold rail crossing. Fortunately I remember that and passed with flying colors. I think it is time to place even stronger emphasis on this and any time a driver has "trouble" remembering, a hefty fine and suspension of license will help him or her remember.


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## Devil's Advocate (Feb 5, 2015)




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## afigg (Feb 5, 2015)

NY Times article on grade crossings accidents in the NYC region for the commuter railroads: Rail Crossing Accidents Decline Nationwide, but Less So in New York Region. From posts I saw on Second Ave Sagas, there are no grade crossings on the electrified segment of the Hudson River Line and none of course on the New Haven line. But there are a bunch on the Harlem line, many of which will be difficult and expensive to grade separate if a decision to do so were to be made by the politicians in the wake of this accident. LIRR has many grade crossings in its 3rd rail territory and long stalled plans to separate some of them.

Some excerpts from the NYT article:



> Accidents at railroad crossings happen with surprising regularity in the region. Since 2003, there have been 125 grade-crossing accidents on New Jersey Transit lines, 105 on the Long Island Rail Road and 30 on Metro-North Railroad, according to the latest available Federal Railroad Administration data. More than half of those 260 accidents resulted in injuries or deaths. In all, 73 people were killed and 148 injured.
> 
> Nationally, the numbers of accidents and fatalities at rail crossings have fallen steadily, as grade crossings have been eliminated and safety improvements made, according to safety groups. There were 3,085 such accidents across the country that killed 371 people in 2004. Those figures dropped to 2,096 accidents that killed 288 people in 2013.





> The last accident that took place at the crossing occurred in 1984, according to the railroad administration’s data. A Metro-North train struck a truck, also at the height of the evening rush, killing the 21-year-old driver, Gerard Dunne, a new father who had been responding to a call for work, his sister Barbara Kehoe said.





> Metro-North has 126 grade crossings, Long Island Rail Road has 294, and New Jersey Transit has 330, according to the transit agencies.
> 
> In an interview on NY1 on Wednesday morning, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said that eliminating all grade crossings would be prohibitively costly. “In theory it’s a nice idea,” he said. “In practicality, do we have the money, do we have the time? And is it one of the top priority safety projects? I would say no.”


Yet, Cuomo wants to spend $500 million and up on a poorly located Air Train connection to LaGuardia. This accident was bad enough that there could be public pressure on the Governor and state legislature to spend funds to close or separate some of the grade crossings.


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## Bob Dylan (Feb 5, 2015)

Unfortunately here in the Peoples Republic of Texas, you don't even have to take an actual driving test to get your license! Just take an approved drivers training course, pass the State written test on rules and signs and then hit the road!

Common sense tells you to Stop! Look! and Listen! @ Grade Crossings, but common sense among drivers seems to be in short supply now- a-days!!!


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## spacecadet (Feb 5, 2015)

OlympianHiawatha said:


> I think it is time to place even stronger emphasis on this and any time a driver has "trouble" remembering, a hefty fine and suspension of license will help him or her remember.


The problem is there is basically no enforcement in this area. It's already illegal to stop on the tracks, just as it's illegal to speed, fail to use turn signals, weave in and out of traffic, and a lot of other things that people do routinely on the roads here. I'm convinced that some people don't even *know* this stuff is illegal, because they've just never been so much as warned over it in decades, and in some cases they have never even had driver's education anywhere in the United States. In NY, you can get a license anywhere and transfer it over. (I'm not saying that's true of Ellen Brody.)

Driver's education is the only answer, combined with strict testing when you either obtain *or renew* your license. I don't see how anyone stops on the tracks even if there's a car in front of them unless they just don't even know they're not supposed to do it.


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## Ryan (Feb 5, 2015)

Red light cameras at grade crossings with $1,000 fines. Start hitting these idiots in the wallet and maybe they'll stop.


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## TinCan782 (Feb 5, 2015)

spacecadet said:


> The two things that I think the investigation's going to focus on are:
> 
> 1) Why this person was on the track and what more can be done to keep people off the tracks
> 
> ...


In one of the news photos I saw of this accident, a crossbuck, the red lights were flashing and below..a sign, "DO NOT STOP ON TRACKS" was predominately displayed. The smoldering train in the background.


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## KmH (Feb 5, 2015)

The average driver does not read traffic control signs.

The average driver is not fully engaged with the task of driving the car when the car is moving.

As level 4 autonomous (self-driving) cars eliminate the human driver these types of incidents will dramatically decease in number.


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## Dutchrailnut (Feb 7, 2015)

think fines will work, when current penalty of death by train does not phase them ???


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## OlympianHiawatha (Feb 7, 2015)

Dutchrailnut said:


> think fines will work, when current penalty of death by train does not phase them ???


Add a few months of License Suspension to a hefty fine and that should put the fear of God into them as they will have no place to use their Cell or Texting Phone


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## Paulus (Feb 7, 2015)

OlympianHiawatha said:


> Dutchrailnut said:
> 
> 
> > think fines will work, when current penalty of death by train does not phase them ???
> ...


Up to 80% of those with suspended or revoked licenses continue driving anyhow


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## Ryan (Feb 7, 2015)

Dutchrailnut said:


> think fines will work, when current penalty of death by train does not phase them ???


Yes. As I mentioned elsewhere, humans are really, really bad at qualifying low likelihood, high impact risk events. We're much better at avoiding high likelihood (near certain with cameras), but lower impact risks.


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## CHamilton (Feb 9, 2015)

The Failed Dream of the Easy Commute



> Just as New York State highways are the creaking remnants of a vanished dream, its rail system also seems stuck in the past. In the aftermath of this most recent accident, we learned that only two of the nation’s eighteen state or local railways, Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road, operate on a third-rail system powered by overhead lines. And while the frequency of accidents at crossings has lessened in other parts of the country, they remain hazardous in New York. (Metro-North has a hundred and twenty-five grade crossings in addition to the one that Ellen Brody blundered through.)


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## John Bredin (Apr 4, 2016)

jis said:


> What is stranger is that according to some reports, specifically from an interview with a driver in a car that was just behind Ms. Brody's car, that she was caught on the wrong side of the gate but not on the track. She checked for damage to the rear of the SUV and then proceeded to drive onto the track! If that is true that is truly bizarre behavior!


Sorry to revive a thread from over a year ago, but today I read an article of interest on this point (which I found while googling the Tesla Model 3 and unusual locations/styles of gear-selectors). The gist is that the driver may have intended to engage "reverse" but in a new car with an unusual gear-selector she engaged "drive" instead. A bit of nightmare fuel if true!http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2015/02/can-unfamiliarity-with-a-gear-shift-lever-cause-a-tragedy/index.htm


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## Ryan (Apr 4, 2016)

Good find! That's pretty plausible - it's a shame that something that should be so simple ends up killing folks.


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## Bob Dylan (Apr 4, 2016)

This is another area where Auto Standards need to be mandated by the Government for Safety reasons!

Designers love to create things that are different and avant guarde, but never take Safety and practical use in the Real World into consideration!


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## Metra Electric Rider (Apr 5, 2016)

CHamilton said:


> The Failed Dream of the Easy Commute
> 
> 
> 
> > Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road, operate on a third-rail system powered by overhead lines. A


Did I just read what I thought I read? I hope they mean third rail supplied via "mains power" as they'd call it in the UK rather than a dedicated power plant.


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## jis (Apr 5, 2016)

Metra Electric Rider said:


> CHamilton said:
> 
> 
> > The Failed Dream of the Easy Commute
> ...


That sentence in the article makes no sense, and its relevance in the context of the article is also questionable.


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## Metra Electric Rider (Apr 5, 2016)

jis said:


> That sentence in the article makes no sense, and its relevance in the context of the article is also questionable.


That's why it stuck out to me. Grade crossings are a problem whether diesel, third rail or catenary.


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## Thirdrail7 (Feb 25, 2019)

On 4th anniversary of Valhalla Metro-North crash, third rail is focus of litigation


https://www.lohud.com/story/news/investigations/2019/01/31/valhalla-crash-anniversary-third-rail/2720337002/



> Lawyers for the estates of those who died say were it not for Metro-North’s faulty design of the third rail, everyone in the lead car would have survived and nine others wouldn’t have been injured. The remaining 625 passengers, riding in the seven cars behind the lead, were not injured.
> 
> “But for the dangerous design of the third rail, NO ONE INSIDE THE TRAIN would have gotten hurt, NOT EVEN A SCRATCH,” attorney Natascia Ayers wrote in court papers filed in State Supreme Court in Westchester in April.
> 
> ...


The battle wages on....for toy soldiers.


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## Acela150 (Feb 25, 2019)

The best part of this whole thing is simple. The driver was found to be at fault for the entire incident. And who do people sue? Metro North.......


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## daybeers (Feb 26, 2019)

While the driver was indeed at fault, the third rail design was incredibly flawed and Metro-North should pay for the unnecessary loss of life.


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## jis (Feb 26, 2019)

I think the phrase "incredibly flawed" is maybe a bit shrill, since this sort of third rail has operated without this sort of failure for many many decades through many grade crossing accidents. This was a very unique failure mode, and indeed lessons should be learned from this and the detailed implementation improved to mitigate this failure mode.

diverting attention away from the legal posturing by all involved ...

I wonder if the tie plates for the third rails have been modified so that they break much quicker under stress. Also, it would seem that rail sections much shorter than 39' with designed for failure tie plates would minimize the risk of the third rail holding together until it pierces into the body of a car. Also, if the brackets holding the rail could somehow have a bias to fail falling away from the track rather than towards the track that might help keep the rail away from the vehicle.

The NTSB report is very informative: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/RAR1701.pdf

In this case it almost seems like the SUV together with the front truck of the front car, acted as a routing device to route the third rail up and into the rail car. The only way to protect against that would seem to be to somehow protect the start point of the third rail from incursion by a large sliding object while allowing enough gap for the third rail shoe to pass under unhindered. A very tall order perhaps.

Incidentally NTSB claims on page 24 last two lines that LIRR has under running third rail! Someone did not do an adequate job of proofreading and fact checking all claims in the report I guess. Of course this error is not significant in the context of this particular accident, nor does it appear to have had any impact on the recommendations, since all third rail users irrespective of the type essentially got the same directive.

I wonder what came of the recommendations R-17-007 , R-17-008 , R-17-009  and R-17-010 .


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## Thirdrail7 (Mar 2, 2019)

We should pay closer attention to this case. Conspiracy theories are abound as the Metro-North engineer reaches a confidential settlement with the company.  The lawyers representing other interested parties are naturally crying foul and want the details released.

https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2019/01/02/metro-north-settles-valhalla-crash-lawsuit-steven-smalls/2462167002/?utm_source=oembed&amp;utm_medium=news&amp;utm_campaign=storylines



> “We want to know what his allegations against Metro-North are and what did they pay him,” said attorney Andrew Maloney, who represents 15 injured passengers as well as the family of Aditya Tomar, 41, of Danbury, Connecticut. “My clients are extremely upset that Metro-North has paid him off and they have not seen a penny.”
> 
> Metro-North dismisses any suggestion of an ulterior motive behind the railroad's decision to settle Smalls' claim.


I'm sure this isn't uncommon, particularly when the employee settles out:



> Brody’s estate has been named as a defendant in a handful of lawsuits filed in state Supreme Court in Westchester, including one by Smalls, which claims he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
> 
> Smalls, who lives in Orange County, has not returned to work and is no longer employed by Metro-North. He is also suing Mount Pleasant, saying the town knew the crossing was dangerous after an earlier accident and should have shut it down.
> 
> ...


It always amazes me that the engineer always seems to be at fault, particularly when they allege Ms. Brody may not have been aware she was on the tracks.

Wow.


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## Ryan (Mar 2, 2019)

Indeed.  If you're dumb enough to not realize that you've driven onto railroad tracks, you need to be paying a bit more attention behind the wheel.


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## jis (Mar 2, 2019)

Ryan said:


> Indeed.  If you're dumb enough to not realize that you've driven onto railroad tracks, you need to be paying a bit more attention behind the wheel.


Specially when you were off the track and then managed to get your self on the track at the last moment.

Unfortunately, once you have lost situational awareness and are tense, all bets are off.


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## Thirdrail7 (Mar 6, 2019)

The attack on the engineer continues. Emphasis is mine.

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/investigations/2019/03/06/metro-north-engineer-steven-smalls-valhalla-ellen-brody/3019494002/



> A re-examination of the final 17 seconds before a Metro-North train collided with an SUV at a railroad crossing in Valhalla four years ago is raising new questions *about the split-second decisions made by the train’s engineer* The Journal News and lohud.com has learned.
> 
> The new analysis*, using data gleaned from the train’s onboard event recorder, is being used to challenge Metro-North engineer Steven Smalls’ decision to sound the train’s horn when** he spotted a reflection of light at the Commerce Street crossing instead of immediately activating the emergency brake.*


So, the attorneys want the crews to immediately dump the train into emergency if you see a "glimmer of light?" That will go over well.

'



> Philip Russotti, the attorney representing Brody’s estate, attacked Smalls’ claim that he made the safest choice.
> 
> “Mr. Smalls, I will ask you one more time,” Russotti said as a day of intense questioning wrapped up. “If you had slowed down before you put the emergency brake on, it would have taken you longer to get to the crossing. Isn’t that true?”
> 
> ...


It may have only knocked the SUV a few feet from the crossing and ignited more vehicles.



> The NTSB report said Smalls told investigators he was 1,200 feet away when he noticed “a reflection of light” near the Commerce Street crossing but could not immediately determine what was causing the reflection. The event data indicated the train’s horn sounded at 6:25:56 p.m., about 1,424 feet before the collision. It sounded three more times before the collision.
> 
> Russotti says that in the seconds after Smalls noticed a reflection, the train’s speed increased from 55 mph to 59 mph.
> 
> ...


If all she had to do was cross the track, why didn't she do it? A glimmer of light can be a billboard, the moon shining on the rail, a car on a curve.  However, a car is not supposed to stop on the railroad tracks and that is the point that should be pushed.



> Throughout the days of questioning,* Smalls insisted his training instructed him to blow the horn until he identified what was on the tracks.
> *
> 
> *
> ...


Dumping a train is serious. it is not to be taken lightly.



> Metro-North has so far refused to disclose the terms, saying *to *do so would give other litigants an unfair negotiating advantage in future settlements. The railroad says Smalls acted heroically and was found to have performed “in accordance with all procedures and regulations.”
> 
> "*Any allegation that Mr. Smalls acted improperly, then or since, is meritless, **if not contemptible,”* the railroad said in a statement issued in January.


It IS contemptible. I wish the Son of Sam laws covered estates because her estate should be sued.


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## Acela150 (Mar 6, 2019)

This poor guy. He's getting blamed for something that the NTSB said he was NOT at fault for.


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## Thirdrail7 (Mar 21, 2019)

Mr. Brody is now an advocate for railroad grade crossing safety and he has a lot to say. Unfortunately, his grasp is shaky and he make several noticeable errors. Naturally, his wife or her lack of motor vehicle law knowledge is not mentioned.

*Alan Brody: Metro-North, LIRR, NJ Transit fail to make railroad grade crossings safe*
https://www.lohud.com/story/opinion...ta-street-crossings-like-valhalla/3200581002/

While I see his point about PTC,



> Schumer was a key player in securing a $1 billion loan the MTA needed to finance the PTC installation. But it doesn’t even address the single largest problem in railroad safety — the crossings, which generate up to five times more accidents than any other type of rail hazard.
> There are over 5,000 of these crossings in New York. Around 700 incidents a year in New York cause about 25 fatalities and hundreds of injuries.
> Though much delayed, 2008 Federal legislation required the MTA to install this massive PTC technology system to protect trains from running into each other and their workers and from derailment caused by speeding.
> While this indirectly benefits the public, the area that that most affects them — the crossings — are simply overlooked.



He simply loses it with the rest.



> The obvious solution to all of this is to take away the responsibility for crossing safety from the railroads and turn it over to people that understand the problem from the point of the view of the public: highway engineers. You wouldn’t ask a trucker to design a safety system for cars or an oil tanker company for yachts, so why are railroads responsible for the safety of motorists?



The DOT is heavily involved in grade crossing safety and traffic engineers are involved in the design. Te railroad maintains the ties and the apparatus...if it exists.





> Since railways date from the development of major cities, they assume an ownership of vast tracts of strategic land and an absolute right of way. How else could you explain that when an engineer noticed signs of a car belonging to my wife, on a railroad crossing in Valhalla in 2015 due to series of incidents with missing and defective signs, he simply blew his horn and the train sped up.
> 
> Not only did National Transportation Safety Board examiners accept this without a second thought but a board executive referred to her as a trespasser.
> 
> ...



Once thing he leaves out that I will bring up. What about ignorant drivers? How often are they tested? I would be interested in knowing when is the last time he or anyone in his family had to familiarize themselves with the driving laws of the state?

If they had to take a test every time they had to renew their licenses, perhaps they'd be familiar with this tidbit from the NY Driving manual:


*Chapter 10: Special Driving Conditions*



> *Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to cross any railroad tracks unless you are certain your entire vehicle will clear all of the tracks at the crossing.* You cannot go across any railroad tracks unless there is room for your vehicle on the other side. If other traffic prevents you from going fully across, wait and go across only when there is room.




Additionally, 



> What should you do if you stall on the tracks, for any reason?
> 
> 1. GET OUT! (That includes EVERYONE in the car, children, babies, an elderly passenger, etc.)
> 
> ...



She remained on the track and proved ZERO warning. I wonder when is the last time their family reviewed this motor vehicle law. Perhaps Mr. Brody would like to advocate for taking a test during license renewal. 

By the way, Mr. Brody....your wife IS a trespasser. She stopped on private property and violated motor vehicle law. You shouldn't be surprised the NTSB pointed it out.


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## neroden (Mar 23, 2019)

I would like to advocate for a test during driver license removal myself. Maybe we can start an organization...


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## Thirdrail7 (Feb 16, 2020)

5 years after this deadly incident, Mr. Brody seems to have backed off his shrill defense and makes a logical point.

Husband of Valhalla Metro-North crash victim continues fight for signage, lighting changes
http://www.news12.com/story/4164779...-continues-fight-for-signage-lighting-changes



> When asked about those who point the blame on Ellen Brody, Alan Brody disagrees.
> 
> "I say that she was brought into a situation of complete unawareness ... It's in the middle of a cemetery, it's dark, the signage is not legible, not viewable at night," says Alan Brody.
> 
> ...



I do agree that there is a nationwide problem with signs. Not all railroad crossings have advance warnings and they are often poorly lit. Some have crossbucks with no advance warnings. If you're not familiar with the area you're operating, it can be an issue.

We can do better on this front. 

Of course, there is the bright headlight, the horn, the ringing bell that also alerts you to the presence of a train but that's another story.


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## Thirdrail7 (Feb 16, 2020)

Meanwhile, Mr. Schumer manages to confuse facts as he fights for the microphone. 

Schumer accuses MTA of dragging feet on HV rail crossing updates
http://www.news12.com/story/4170497...-of-dragging-feet-on-hv-rail-crossing-updates



> Schumer wants the MTA to use $5 million that the federal government gave the agency four years ago to make safety upgrades to 53 dangerous railroad crossings in the Hudson Valley.
> 
> "So, they have the money. Where's the improvements?” said Schumer. “That's the purpose of being here today. We got you the money three years ago. Where are they?"
> 
> ...



While it is an interesting question, I fail to see what grade crossing upgrades have to do with the incident at Spuyten Duyvil.


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## west point (Feb 16, 2020)

IMHO crossings such as this need advance warning systems that go off earlier. Of course RRs are going to have to install additional predictors but that may help. Any blind curve needs these advance warnings as well as crossings where trains go over 50 MPH.. These early warnings might have prevented the CAL Z accident ? It is up to the states to either install these advance warnings or eliminate the grade crossing.


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