The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has completed 1,500 ft of track reconstruction in the Bronx fifteen days after 10 cars of a 24-car CSX freight train carrying the city's trash derailed. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the cause of the accident, which occurred on Metro-North Railroad’s (MNR) Hudson Line near Spuyten Duyvil Station.
Recovery work began immediately following the accident and is estimated to cost $1 million to $2 million, says Marjorie Anders, an MTA spokeswoman. MNR, which cleared the wreckage with assistance from New York City Transit and CSX, is performing the work, which includes maintenance of way and maintenance of equipment, she says. NTSB expects the investigation to continue for months, Anders adds.
The investigation includes track conditions, mechanical equipment and train operations as well as verification of container weights and track maintenance, vehicle maintenance, and personnel records, NTSB says.
Service on the Hudson Line was suspended following the accident until July 22 and was suspended again for seven hours starting at 10 p.m. on Thursday, July 25, to give workers unrestrained access to the site, MTA says. Regular service resumed on Friday, July 26, but both tracks were be out of service for the weekend, it adds.
The train, which was carrying municipal waste for contractor Waste Management, originated at the Oak Point Yard in the Bronx and was headed to a landfill in Virginia. None of the three crewmembers were harmed in the accident, NTSB says.
(This story has been updated to show that track work has been completed.)
