Metro-North Railroad officials had inspected the tracks between Bridgeport and Fairfield just two days before a train derailed and collided with another May 17 and injured more than 70 passengers.
Federal regulations require Metro-North to inspect its tracks at least twice a week, with the railroad appearing to be in compliance, according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
At the time of the inspection, Metro-North reported no defects in the section of tracks where the derailment occurred.
A more sophisticated inspection, which looks for internal fractures using X-ray-like equipment, was also completed in April, and found no defects.
The train collision occurred about 6:10 p.m. in Fairfield, when one train heading east along the New Haven line derailed before being sideswiped by a westbound train. The trains were traveling about 70 mph just prior to the crash, which is not unusual for that area, according to officials.
As the investigation into the cause of the collision continues, an initial review of public records shows that both safety precautions and state funding have been maintained by and for the train operator.
Connecticut, which owns the tracks, spent roughly $256 million on the railroad in 2012, which is about a 1 percent increase in funding from 2011 and a 25 percent increase from 2010, according to an analysis of the state”™s budget by the Business Journal.
Within the rail budget, maintenance spending has actually increased 17-fold. The state spent about $749,000 on rail maintenance facilities in 2010 and $13.2 million in 2012.
In contrast, the amount of money spent on operations and improvements has remained stable with some apparent cuts in funding for rail equipment and facility upgrades.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) did not respond to a request for comment. Though funding has been maintained, and in some cases increased, it”™s difficult to determine if the funding levels are sufficient without additional information.
More than 70 people sustained injuries during the collision and at least seven people were hospitalized for multiple days with one in critical condition. At least one lawsuit by seven Metro-North employees is in the beginning stages and seeks to recover damages for injuries.
In the last 10 years, about 25 people have been injured during the course of train accidents in Connecticut and two people have died, according to FRA data, which includes Amtrak incidents. During that time period, 44 derailments also occurred and 14 accidents incurred damages greater than $100,000.
The damaged train cars and tracks from the recent collision are currently being examined by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to determine the cause of the derailment. A typical NTSB investigation takes about one year to complete.
During news conferences following the accident, NTSB board member Earl Weener said there was substantial interest in a broken section of rail and in the new M-8 rail cars that were involved in the crash. Weener said it was unclear if the rail was broken before or as a result of the crash.
“All of our teams have been working around the clock to determine the scene and what caused this accident and what we can do to prevent it,” Weener said. “The investigation is well under way.”
Officials from Kawasaki Rail Car Inc. in Yonkers, which manufactured the M-8 cars, did not return a request for comment. The cars, which are designed to the highest safety standards, are the first in the series to be involved in a crash.
In mid-April, the 200th M-8 rail car entered into service on the New Haven line. The order for 405 rail cars was finalized in 2009, with the first cars entering into service in March 2011. Each rail car costs between $2 million and $3 million.
Generally speaking, there are many possible causes for a train derailment, said George Gavalla, a former FRA safety administrator and Norwich resident. A component of the car, such as the wheel or wheel assembly, could be broken; there could be debris in the track or a section of the rail could be broken, perhaps because of an internal crack.
Gavalla is also the owner of Triad Railroad Consulting L.L.C.
“Rails can develop internal cracks that grow over time,” Gavalla said. “If the track isn”™t maintained properly, (the cracks) can cause the rails to break more quickly than if it isn”™t. It depends on how the track is set up.”
