Metro North Derailment by Spuyten Duyvil Station

  Above was the scene this morning as a diesel engine seven car Metro North commuter train that originated from Poughkeepsie derailed just north of the Spuyten Duyvil Station in Riverdale. The train was being pushed by the diesel engine and derailed as it had just gone over the curved split in the Metro North tracks that lead to the Amtrak Bridge or south to the Spuyten Duyvil Station. All cars left the train tracks with the first car landing on the banks of the Hudson River. The diesel engine was at the back of the train (as has been normal for these trains from Poughkeepsie) and pushing the train so the engineer would not know of any danger or impediments that may have been on the track. 

  

  In the past two diesel engines were used so the train was always being pulled with the engineer at the front of the train rather than using only one diesel engine with the engineer at the back of the train. That is something that will have to be investigated to see if had the engineer been at the front of this train, could this accident been averted?

  There were 67 passengers on the Sunday morning train, and four people were declared dead at the scene with 11 other people critically injured and taken to local hospitals. Had this been a regular morning rush hour train the dead and injured would have been much greater. The speed limit is 30 MPH in the Spuyten Duyvil Station area, but those who wait at the station will tell you that it seems that the trains from Poughkeepsie go much faster than 30 MPH. Back in July less than six months ago there was another derailment of a freight train on this same Metro North line between the Spuyten Duyvil Station and the Marble Hill stations.

Below are more photos of the derailment.

The lead car of this train ended up on the banks of the Hudson River outside the Spuyten Duyvil Station.

Here you can see how the train cars in the middle of the train ended up. You can see the car on the right is on its side and is being braced in this and other spots so the car does not move any more.

Here the diesel engine that was pushing the 7 passenger cars lays sideways off the tracks.

STATEMENT FROM BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ

RE: Metro North Train Derailment

“This morning a horrible accident has left four people dead and dozens more injured, casting a dark shadow over the Thanksgiving and Hanukkah holidays. While we learn more about the specifics of what exactly happened this morning, my thoughts and prayers, as well as those of all 1.4 million Bronx residents, are with the victims and their families as they deal with this terrible tragedy," said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

Families looking for information on specific passengers should call 718-817-7444. Visit mta.info or call 511 for more information regarding transit service.