Derailment Occurred as Train Transited Switch That Was Misaligned but Mistakenly Showed to Dispatchers as Properly Aligned
Switches Inspected Systemwide
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) officials today provided an update on the ongoing investigation into the Aug. 3 derailment of an eight-car passenger train east of Jamaica that resulted in 13 non-life-threatening injuries. The investigation indicates that the train, which was carrying 55 customers as it navigated a complex set of switches known as Hall Interlocking, derailed after traveling eastbound over a switch intended for a straight move that was in fact misaligned for a diverging route. Prior to the derailment, LIRR conducted a required monthly inspection of the switch, and it is believed that the switch did not properly realign upon completion of the inspection. This condition was not detected prior to the derailment because of a previously unknown vulnerability in the switch’s wiring configuration, which resulted in the train dispatcher’s display showing that the route was properly aligned when it was, in fact, not. The MTA and LIRR continue to investigate the incident as does the Federal Railroad Administration.
The first train to travel across the misaligned switch came through at 11:12 a.m. It was train number 722, which was the 10:43 a.m. departure from Grand Central Madison due to terminate at Hempstead at 11:37 a.m. Traveling 54 miles per hour with signals aligned for a straight route, the train was traveling six miles per hour slower than the maximum allowable speed.
“Safety is the bedrock principle for everything we do at LIRR, and our core value as transportation professionals,” said Catherine Rinaldi, Interim President of the Long Island Rail Road and President of Metro-North Railroad. “This incident has exposed a unique and previously unknown localized vulnerability that has been rectified. This incident has prompted us to enhance our switch inspection processes to improve the safety of the railroad going forward.”
“The MTA is committed to the safety and security of our riders and employees,” said MTA Chief Safety and Security Officer Pat Warren. “We’re continuing to work with federal partners on a comprehensive investigation to understand exactly what led to the issue with this particular switch, and we will take the necessary steps to ensure that it never happens again.”
Following the derailment, the switch was rebuilt and reconfigured to correct the wiring configuration issue. The LIRR took immediate steps to ensure systemwide safety of the railroad by immediately conducting thorough assessments of all 1,045 switches on the property and determined that this wiring and switch configuration was unique to this one specific location. Enhanced routine inspection procedures were also developed and implemented as a result of the incident.