Timeline: Past Metro-North Accidents and Issues

The Metro-North crash that killed six people when a train hit a car on the railroad tracks in New York's Westchester County is the latest -- and deadliest -- in a string of recent accidents and issues for the commuter rail service, which is the nation's second-busiest railroad. Below is a timeline of past problems for the Metro-North:

Feb. 3, 2015: Six people were killed when a train packed with commuters from New York City hit a car on the railroad tracks in Westchester at the height of evening rush hour, sparking a fiery crash that also injured at least 12 people, officials say.

Jan. 28, 2015: A “minor” derailment inside Grand Central Terminal snarled the evening rush with delays and cancellations. Early the next morning, another train derailed as it was pulling into a train yard in White Plains due to snow.

March 2014: The Federal Railroad Administration issued a stinging report on Metro-North, saying the railroad let safety concerns slip while pushing to keep trains on time. Railroad executives pledged to make safety their top priority.

March 10, 2014: A worker was killed by a train in Manhattan while trying to re-energize tracks that had been out of service for maintenance.

Jan. 23, 2014: A power outage on the line stranded hundreds of passengers and disrupted service. Authorities said the cause was human error during an electrical repair project.

Jan. 22, 2014: About 200 passengers on a train in Connecticut got stuck because of downed wires. They had no heat, water or lights.

Dec. 1, 2013: A derailment killed four people, the railroad’s first passenger fatalities, in the Bronx. The NTSB said the engineer had fallen asleep at the controls because he had a severe, undiagnosed case of sleep apnea.

Sept. 25, 2013: A feeder cable in Mount Vernon failed, knocking out power for 12 days to Metro-North's New Haven line, which carries 132,000 commuters daily.

July 18, 2013: The derailment of a freight train on Metro-North tracks in the Bronx was caused by deteriorated concrete ties and other problems compounded by deferred maintenance. No one was injured.

May 28, 2013: A track foreman was fatally struck by a train in West Haven, Connecticut, probably due to a mistake by a student rail traffic controller.

May 17, 2013: Two trains collided in Bridgeport, Connecticut, during the evening rush hour after one train derailed and struck a second train, injuring 73 passengers, two engineers and a conductor. The derailment was caused by broken joint bars, which are used to join rails of different sizes. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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