Passenger Trains > Prelim report: Valhalla incident on Metro North

Not a whole lot here but it restates a lot of the facts that we already know. We all know that NTSB doesn't issue any real detailed info until they complete their investigation and that usually takes about a year.

http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/DCA14MR006_preliminary.aspx

John

Wow. TWELVE sections of rail entered the first car, in the length of time required for the train to stop. Imagine what that experience was like for the passengers. And then the fire started.

march_hare Wrote:
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> Wow. TWELVE sections of rail entered the first
> car, in the length of time required for the train
> to stop. Imagine what that experience was like
> for the passengers. And then the fire started.

scary as hell ... the thought of that just boggles the mind ...

Posted from Android

Did they break or buckle and stay in that car or pierce through successive cars?

filmteknik Wrote:
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> Did they break or buckle and stay in that car or
> pierce through successive cars?


According to the report: "Twelve sections of the third rail, each 39 feet long, were found inside the first passenger railcar." That would explain how the people in that car were killed, probably not from the fire but by getting hit by one of those 12 rails.

Andre

According to the prelim report, only 20 passengers were in the lead MU car despite the fact the train is said to have been carrying 650 people in 8 cars, or an average of 80 passengers per car. If the lead car had been carrying an avg load of 80 people, injury/fatalities likely would have been dramatically higher.

There are on average about 105 seats per car (101 & 110) depending on the ADA bathroom presence.

On northbound trains, the 1st car is the longest walk from the terminal. Lots of folks take the easy out and board a car further back. That likely saved their lives.

symph1 Wrote:
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> On northbound trains, the 1st car is the longest
> walk from the terminal. Lots of folks take the
> easy out and board a car further back. That likely
> saved their lives.


Yup, hadn't thought of that. At many stations, its also a shorter walk to the stairway that gets you off the platform and down to the parking lot.

Yet another example of how lethargy and overall laziness can be a good thing. It's certainly helped me...

filmteknik Wrote:
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> Did they break or buckle and stay in that car or
> pierce through successive cars?

I've seen a photo of at least one third rail section that exited the first car and went into the second car. What struck me was that it was almost at roof level.