Officials slam Metro-North

Updated on Thursday.

Federal officials from the northwest Bronx slammed Metro-North as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a report saying accidents including the deadly December 2013 derailment at the Spuyten Duyvil Station could have been prevented.

The report, which reviewed five accidents on the line running from Connecticut, through Riverdale and up to Grand Central Station, faulted Metro-North for “inadequate and ineffective track inspection and maintenance, extensive deferred maintenance issues, inadequate safety oversight and deficiencies in passenger car crashworthiness, roadway worker protection procedures and organizational safety culture.” 

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, whose large district includes Riverdale, co-presented the report alongside Connecticut’s two senators and the president of the NTSB on Oct. 30.

The officials called on Metro-North to implement measures, including screening engineers for sleep disorders — which a recent investigation blamed as the cause of the Dec. 1 crash that killed four and injured dozens of others in Spuyten Duyvil.

Rep. Eliot Engel joined in the criticism, saying in a statement, “One accident is more than enough when you think about the thousands of people who ride the rails every day, but Metro-North’s failure to monitor potential safety hazards has led to a series of five serious accidents in an 11-month period. It’s inexcusable.”

Sandy anniversary marked

Elected officials touted progress and called for ongoing work on the second anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, which wreaked havoc from the south of New Jersey to the northwest Bronx and beyond in fall 2012.

News outlets reported progress rebuilding damaged infrastructure and installing measures to protect against another “superstorm” has been slow, with just a few small projects completed so far.

But Mayor Bill de Blasio took credit for catalyzing post-Sandy recovery in some neighborhoods, while Mr. Schumer said congressional funding has restored New York as the “preeminent site for federal capital infrastructure investment.”