Commuter Trains Collide in Connecticut
Two Metro-North trains collided Friday evening, leaving at least 60 people injured, six of them critically. No deaths have been reported yet.
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The accident happened in Bridgeport, according to the Hartford Courant, which reports that an eastbound train from New York City's Grand Central station derailed for as-yet-unknown reasons and hit an approaching westbound train. Here's more from the local Fox affiliate:
Connecticut governor Dannel P. Malloy was on the scene, as was whoever operates his Twitter account, which sent out a pretty nasty shot of the accident:
Photo: Gov. Malloy being briefed by officials at site of train collision in #Bridgeport twitter.com/GovMalloyOffic…
— Governor Dan Malloy (@GovMalloyOffice) May 18, 2013
From the photos, it looks like the accident involved the fairly new M8 railcars that were first placed in service on the route two years ago, with new cars being added constantly since, despite reports that they had design "glitches." Again, we don't know yet what caused the derailment.
CBS affiliate WFSB's Karen Lee tweeted photos taken by her friend KwangIk Hong, who was on one of the trains (he was not injured):
This is from friend who was on the train twitter.com/KarenLeeWFSB/s…
— Karen Lee WFSB (@KarenLeeWFSB) May 17, 2013
Another picture from my friend.He wasn't hurt but says he saw others #MetroNorth twitter.com/KarenLeeWFSB/s…
— Karen Lee WFSB (@KarenLeeWFSB) May 17, 2013
Another one from my friend who was inside the train.He was in the middle carts #metronorth #Bridgeport twitter.com/KarenLeeWFSB/s…
— Karen Lee WFSB (@KarenLeeWFSB) May 18, 2013
Another WFSB journalist also had a friend on the train. He sent these photos:
PHOTO: Dramatic photo from inside the train from a friend who was on front #MetroNorth train headed to #NYC. twitter.com/KallMeKG/statu…
— Kevin Michael TV (@KallMeKG) May 18, 2013
Photo 2: Mangled metal from inside the train. Friend who works at #ESPN was headed to NYC. #MetroNorth twitter.com/KallMeKG/statu…
— Kevin Michael TV (@KallMeKG) May 18, 2013
Photo 3: Debris on seats from inside the #MetroNorth train crash. He was thrown off the seat but ok. #Bridgeport twitter.com/KallMeKG/statu…
— Kevin Michael TV (@KallMeKG) May 18, 2013
According to Governor Malloy, the accident caused "extensive damage" to the train cars and the tracks. The mayor of Bridgeport, Bill Finch, said the tracks were "destroyed." Amtrak service on the route has been suspended "indefinitely," and it may take until Monday for normal Metro-North service to be restored. The last time Metro-North trains collided resulting in injuries was 1988, according to the Connecticut Post.
