New Yorkers awoke Sunday morning to tragedy: A southbound Metro-North train derailed near the Spuyten Duyvil station in The Bronx. Four passengers were killed and more than 60 others injured.
This makes it one of the deadliest rail accidents in the region in years. Seven passenger cars (plus the engine) derailed, leaving two cars lying on their sides — perilously close to the Harlem River. All four fatalities occurred in those two cars, with three victims reportedly hurled out via the awful force of impact.
The daily commute for hundreds of thousands is likely to be disrupted for days as the train cars are removed and a federal probe begins. While the accident’s immediate cause remains unknown, New Yorkers have reason to be worried.
This is the fourth significant incident involving Metro-North routes this year. In May, an eastbound train derailed in Bridgeport, Conn., and was later struck by a westbound train. More than 73 people were injured, two critically. In July, a northbound garbage-hauling freight train derailed near Sunday’s crash site. In September, Metro-North’s New Haven line was knocked out for 12 days after a Con Ed feeder cable failed.
No, this is isn’t the bad old days of the 1980s, when a near-bankrupt city suffered double-digit derailments every year. But a thriving metropolis requires a modern transit system commuters can have confidence in. As we mourn the four people who lost their lives in this crash and wish the injured a speedy recovery, let us take this terrible crash as a reminder of how much our lives and our livelihoods depend on our infrastructure and the people responsible for it.