OT: Train crash at Hoboken Station

[FLYLine27*]

There are, they failed for some reason.

That's odd...

 

[Hunter Gathers]

PATH to reopen at 3PM (thankfully)

 

[Thordic]

That's odd...

Actually it sounds like the law may not have required NJ Transit have all trains in compliance yet. So not all trains had the applicable overrides in place to prevent this.

Obviously information is flying all over the place, but it's a shame if this is true.

 

[a tribe cq]

Stayed home from work sick today. I feel weird about potentially having been of being on that train.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Actually it sounds like the law may not have required NJ Transit have all trains in compliance yet. So not all trains had the applicable overrides in place to prevent this.

Obviously information is flying all over the place, but it's a shame if this is true.

What's being talked about is "Positive Train Control".

That's almost assuredly something that wouldn't have done anything, here. PTC is generally for speeds 30+ MPH.

We won't know until the speed is analyzed, but I fail to see how a train could've been barreling into Hoboken through the yard. There are all kinds of slow switches and curves.

 

[Maguel]

I was on the train, I work in Hoboken. Same train I take to work every morning, same time, sitting in the second to last car, like I always do.

As we were approaching the terminal I thought, "Hmm, the train is going a little faster than it should be at this point..."

As it hopped off the tracks, I immediately braced myself, and then was thrown into the seat in front of me pretty forcefully upon impact. Luckily, I am completely fine.

The doors opened, and we were able to get off the train onto the platform. I looked around to see if anyone on my car was injured. Some people had bloody noses, cuts to the face and arms, but everyone seemed to be mostly OK. Workers got us off the platform pretty quickly, and into the terminal waiting room. They were screaming to put phones away and keep it moving, so I went outside and walked to work. Took a little while to settle down, but I am obviously feeling very fortunate right now. An analyst on my team was in the front car and went to the hospital, but has been released and seems to be mostly OK, but texted me that his back is kind of hurting.

What really shook me wasn't the impact, but seeing people's reactions. Blood on faces, the floor, people holding cuts to stop the bleeding. Chaotic, but surreal and almost slow-motion at the same time.

I didn't take many pictures as I was more concerned about the people around me and getting out safely, but here they are:

http://imgur.com/a/zUXF0#eOOh9Fi

http://imgur.com/a/P149c#HKDd39G

 

[Leslie Treff]

Glad that you are physically okay.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

I was on the train, I work in Hoboken. Same train I take to work every morning, same time, sitting in the second to last car, like I always do.

As we were approaching the terminal I thought, "Hmm, the train is going a little faster than it should be at this point..."

As it hopped off the tracks, I immediately braced myself, and then was thrown into the seat in front of me pretty forcefully upon impact. Luckily, I am completely fine.

The doors opened, and we were able to get off the train onto the platform. I looked around to see if anyone on my car was injured. Some people had bloody noses, cuts to the face and arms, but everyone seemed to be mostly OK. Workers got us off the platform pretty quickly, and into the terminal waiting room. They were screaming to put phones away and keep it moving, so I went outside and walked to work. Took a little while to settle down, but I am obviously feeling very fortunate right now. An analyst on my team was in the front car and went to the hospital, but has been released and seems to be mostly OK, but texted me that his back is kind of hurting.

What really shook me wasn't the impact, but seeing people's reactions. Blood on faces, the floor, people holding cuts to stop the bleeding. Chaotic, but surreal and almost slow-motion at the same time.

I didn't take many pictures as I was more concerned about the people around me and getting out safely, but here they are:

http://imgur.com/a/zUXF0#eOOh9Fi

http://imgur.com/a/P149c#HKDd39G

Glad you are A-OK.

Did you notice the train speed up after it got through the yard? That's what I think most of us would like to know. Most said it seemed like it was a constant speed with no breaking after the yard, so I'm curious what your thoughts were.

 

[Maguel]

Glad you are A-OK.

Did you notice the train speed up after it got through the yard? That's what I think most of us would like to know. Most said it seemed like it was a constant speed with no breaking after the yard, so I'm curious what your thoughts were.

It seemed like a constant speed to me. We were flying into the terminal (30mph, I've heard) so I actually thought the first impact that jostled me was the conductor slamming on the brakes, but now I know that was the first car crashing and jumping over the platform. The ripple effect threw the rest of the cars off the rails, and that was when I really felt the impact of the crash.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

I have a hard time believing it was 30MPH and it didn't go into the waiting area, TBH. I'm thinking more like 15-20 (which would still look like flying from inside the train). I don't see how they were going 30 through the yard and never slowed down at all in the yard.

Black box data will be really interesting.

 

[FLYLine27*]

http://nypost.com/2016/10/02/black-box-wasnt-working-at-time-of-hoboken-train-crash-probe/

A black box found in the wreckage of the Hoboken train that crashed last week was not working — and the engineer can’t recall any details about the accident, probers said Sunday.

Continues to get more suspicious. Since when does a black box not work? They are nearly indestructible.

 

[sbjnyc]

There is another.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/ntsb-recovers-black-box-video-hoboken-train-crash/story?id=42564534

 

[FLYLine27*]

Train accelerated from 8MPH to 21MPH as it was coming in.

http://nypost.com/2016/10/06/hoboken-train-accelerated-before-fatal-station-crash/

Engineer should be charged with murder IMO as I doubt the train cannot just magically go faster without someone pressing something.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

The situation is pretty much exactly as I called it. I said since the time it happened there as no way he was speeding so much through the yard. It would be almost physically impossible. I know that yard and the fact that no signal issues occurred was another reason to believe he wasn't speeding, there. Then he pushed the gas peddle after the yard.

 

[Leetch3]

Train accelerated from 8MPH to 21MPH as it was coming in.

http://nypost.com/2016/10/06/hoboken-train-accelerated-before-fatal-station-crash/

Engineer should be charged with murder IMO as I doubt the train cannot just magically go faster without someone pressing something.

well equipment malfunction is possible and thats what they need to investigate but yeah it doesn't sound good for him

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

I'm sure that whatever happened was either an accident or a mistake. The engineer did not speed up on purpose. Human error is not a crime.

The biggest culprit is that not enough money is going into improving the infastructure or upgrading the technology.

 

[Crease]

Being an insurance coverage and defense attorney I can only imagine the nights and weekends ahead for the carrier's counsel.

 

[FLYLine27*]

I'm sure that whatever happened was either an accident or a mistake. The engineer did not speed up on purpose. Human error is not a crime.

The biggest culprit is that not enough money is going into improving the infastructure or upgrading the technology.

It absolutely can be. Negligence to is duty. Obviously it wouldn't be as bad a manslaughter charge though.

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

It absolutely can be. Negligence to is duty. Obviously it wouldn't be as bad a manslaughter charge though.

There's been nothing released to this point that suggests the engineer was negligent in any way. I don't really see the need to start yakking about criminal prosecution at this point. Sometimes you can try to do everything correctly, but things turn out horribly.

The worst thing about the whole situation is that there are systems that can be installed that prevent speeding. We don't have the will to protect ourselves with the latest safety equipment, so this is how we pay.

 

[sbjnyc]

I was told that the engineer fell asleep and the conductors were unable to get to the handbrake. This came second (third?) hand from a hoboken conductor.

 

[FLYLine27*]

There's been nothing released to this point that suggests the engineer was negligent in any way. I don't really see the need to start yakking about criminal prosecution at this point. Sometimes you can try to do everything correctly, but things turn out horribly.

The worst thing about the whole situation is that there are systems that can be installed that prevent speeding. We don't have the will to protect ourselves with the latest safety equipment, so this is how we pay.

Well if he fell asleep, that is negligence.

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

Well if he fell asleep, that is negligence.

Not always from the locomotive crew though.

There have been incidents, especially on MNRR that involve engineers or crew members developing or not being tested for sleep disorders like but not limited to narcolepsy, which to me is troubling on all front, up and down the chain of command. However if the guy was napping then that's another story.It's concerning to me that you suggest murder.