![](http://ift.tt/1ncMW5d)
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Hey, MTA: Don't let this be your Bridgeport.
That's what I'd like the MTA's subway managers to ponder after an F train carrying approximately 1,000 riders derailed in a tunnel beneath Woodside, Queens, Friday.
For years, the Metro-North Railroad, another division of the MTA, had a stellar reputation for safety and reliability. It all started to unravel on May 17 in Bridgeport, Conn. A track defect caused a commuter train to derail. It encroached onto an adjacent track - where it was soon slammed by another train.
Dozens were injured in the Connecticut mishap but it didn't trigger any sense of urgency. Eleven days later, a Metro-North train was mistakenly rerouted into a track gang's work zone in West Haven, Conn. Foreman Robert Luden, 52, was struck and killed.
In December, a speeding Metro-North train flew off the rails in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. Four passengers were killed and Samuel Rivera, an off-duty railroad worker, was paralyzed. In March, another Metro-North track worker, Jimmy Romansoff, 58, was struck and killed by a train, this time in Manhattan.
![](http://ift.tt/1uf8JNY)
Metro-North was coasting on reputation and top managers weren't paying attention - or heeding warnings by union leaders.
Mainline subway derailments of passenger trains have been rare considering the number of trips provided daily. There was only one derailment last year and two the year before. Some years there are none.
Still, NYC Transit managers can't coast on that record. Increasing the pace of track replacement is one move that should be seriously considered. We don't want Woodside to be the subway system's Bridgeport.
Original Post by: http://ift.tt/1lJrULH
Source :
Amzing Moment: Donohue: MTA should learn from Metro-North accidents and take F train ...