Late Saturday evening, a Long Island Railroad train derailed in Nassau County. The commuter rail train collided with a LIRR work train. Thirty-three people were injured, with four of them sustaining serious injuries.
About half a mile from the New Hyde Park station on the Ronkonkoma line, the first few cars of the train went slightly off the tracks. Only the first few cars were impacted, with the cars behind those impacted staying in place on the tracks. A typical LIRR train has 12 cars, the other nine were still on the track.
A work train and a revenue or commuter train were running in the same direction on adjacent tracks but a piece of equipment from the work train ended up “violating the clearance envelope of the other track” MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast said.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the derailment.
“It appears that the work train was violating the space …of the revenue train” Cuomo said early on Sunday. The work train was “overlapping” into the “clearance area” of that train and that’s what caused the sideswipe and the derailment, according to Cuomo.
“Why was the work train violating the space? That’s what we are going to have to find out” Cuomo said. The MTA will continue to investigate what went wrong and provide a response when they conclude their research.
Millions of commuters on Long Island rely on the Long Island Railroad each and every day to get into Manhattan and when accidents like these occur, it not only impacts traffic and gives commuters headaches, but also threatens our safety.
The attorneys at the Law Office of Richard M. Kenny have over a combined century of experience and achieved over $100 million in verdicts and settlements to prove their success rate. Our attorneys are very familiar with the railways and laws in and around New York City and have been tackling train accident cases since they began their careers. This is their expertise and they are here to help you get the results you deserve. Call our office today to speak to an attorney about your next steps after a train accident.
