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| (F) train derailed in known Queens trouble zone MTA deemed ‘critical rail break’ area (1288732) | |||
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(F) train derailed in known Queens trouble zone MTA deemed ‘critical rail break’ area |
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Posted by Gold_12th on Sat May 3 13:53:41 2014, in response to derailed F train this morning, posted by JFK Depot on Fri May 2 11:25:11 2014.  The F train that derailed in Queens on Friday exposed the dangers of failure-prone tracks and the need to expedite a planned replacement program that is at least a year away. The train, carrying about 1,000 people, broke free of the rails on an express track near the local station at Broadway and 65th St. in Woodside. The area falls within one of five zones the MTA has deemed “critical rail break” corridors and slated for future replacement. The Queens trouble zone, along the Queens Blvd. line between 50th St. and 71st St./Continental Ave. in Forest Hills, had 205 broken rails between 2005 and 2012 — the second-highest concentration during that period of any part of the subway system. The Queens sector and four others were selected for a multimillion-dollar project to replace rails and weld them together for greater strength, but the project won’t begin until 2015, at the earliest. Rails in the Queens corridor, and throughout the vast majority of the system’s 659 miles of track, are bolted and fastened together, not welded. The so-called “continuous-welded-rail” initiative is planned as part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s next capital plan, which has not been funded by the state or the federal government. The derailment, which injured 19 people but did not result in any deaths, was under investigation Friday, but MTA probers quickly determined that a defective rail might have been to blame. Advocates told the Daily News that the riding public must now worry about whether Friday’s hell ride was a harbinger of things to come. “You have got to ask about this near rush-hour derailment on one of the busiest lines in the subways: Are transit officials replacing track fast enough and in the right places?” said Gene Russianoff, executive director of the Straphangers Campaign, an advocacy group. “We look to the national and state safety monitors to get us independent answers.” MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast, speaking at a press conference at the site, promised a “complete and thorough investigation.” He said the train derailed on track that was laid in the 1930s or 1940s and had been replaced “no more than 20 or 30 years ago, if that.” Subway derailments were all-too-common back in the 1980s — there were 20 in 1980 alone — but there was only one last year and just six since 2010, according to MTA records. That is due in part to transit workers who walk tracks daily to look for rail breaks or defects, officials said. Since 1984, the agency has reconstructed and replaced 372 miles of “mainline” track — an average of about 18 miles a year, according to MTA data. But at the same time, the pace of track replacement has slowed recently compared to what it was in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Over the 10 years from the late 1980s to 1990s, the average dropped to 9 miles per year. And in the 10-year period running through this year, the yearly average has been 10 miles. State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) said derailments are “completely unacceptable.” “This type of malfunction cannot be tolerated,” he said. “Every New Yorker should feel safe on the subway.” The Manhattan-bound F train derailed at 10:24 a.m. along a straightaway that follows a long, sweeping curve that trains enter after a downhill run, transit sources said. The curve has a speed limit of 35 mph. Prendergast did not say how fast the train was going. The motorman, a 31-year veteran, was heard telling the paramedics treating him that it felt like the tracks broke just before the train derailed, sources said. Riders had little warning. “Suddenly I felt shaking. I was in the first car. I could feel the train behind me go off its tracks. It tilted left too much,” said Robin Henaw, 22, who was commuting to work in Manhattan. “You could just feel yourself coming off your seat,” added Irvelle Cadet, 24, who was on her way to a job interview from her home in Jamaica. “I was sideways at one point. Then the conductor came over the speakers to say it derailed.” The first and last of the train’s eight cars managed to stay on the tracks. The others wobbled and screeched and smashed to a halt, destroying a section of track about 500 feet long, including the electrified third rail. Steel girders bent from impact with train cars. Riders were left in the dark. Some had panic attacks. “It was crazy,” added Henaw. “The lights turned off and there were sparks from outside. Everyone was worried about flames. The smoke was pretty heavy. People were handing out tissues. It looked like some people were passing out because of the smoke.” Emergency responders cut power to the tracks and herded passengers out of the cars, then directed them up ladders to an escape hatch leading to street level. Passengers described the evacuation as orderly and well-coordinated. “It didn’t take them long to get us help. It was probably 15 to 20 minutes before the conductor said that firefighters were in the tunnel. He also kept coming over to tell us to remain calm, that help was on its way,” said Cadet. “Firefighters brought pregnant women, older people and children off first,” she added. The train’s conductor and train operator were praised by police and firefighters for keeping their cool and assisting in the evacuation, said Paul Navarro, track division chairman with Transport Workers Union Local 100. Ten victims were admitted to Elmhurst Hospital Center, said spokeswoman Atiya Butler. None sustained major injury, she said. The others were treated at the scene for bumps and bruises. Express train service on the Queens Blvd. line will be suspended until the damaged train is removed — a challenge because what’s left of the tracks is useless. “It’ll take us a while,” Prendergast said. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/straphangers-stranded-train-derails-queens-subway-station-article-1.1776881#ixzz30fz7v9YL |
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