NTSB safety improvements underwhelm riders

Local Metro-North riders and a Riverdalian on the Metropolitan Transportation Association’s (MTA) board are dissatisfied with the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) recommendations following last December’s deadly train crash at the Spuyten Duvil station.

Last week, the NTSB suggested that the Metro-North Railroad install devices that monitor engineers and other crew members and put up more speed limit signs in places where trains should decelerate. A Metro-North spokesman said the line is closely studying the proposals and working with the NTSB on questions about implementation.

Area officials from Councilman Andrew Cohen to Congressman Eliot Engel called on Metro-North to adopt the recommendations, which the NTSB said it derived from its ongoing investigation of the December crash that killed four people and injured dozens of others.

But Charles Moerdler, a member of the MTA’s board, heaped scorn on the proposals.

“What kind of sign short of a flashing light are you going to be able to read at high speed?” Mr. Moerdler, a Riverdalian, said in a phone interview. “I’m all for it. But be real. If the guy is speeding really grossly, he’s not going to be able to read a sign.”

Authorities say the engineer at the helm during the Dec. 1 crash was driving more than 80 mph at the time of the accident. News outlets subsequently quoted the engineer, William Rockefeller, as saying he was drowsy at the time his eight-car train derailed in a 30-mph zone.

Mr. Moerdler, who also chairs Community Board 8’s Land Use Committee, said he would approve of the proposed audio and image monitoring of crew members provided that recordings are stored securely. In a letter to new Metro-North President Joseph Giuletti, the NTSB said such monitoring could be used to detect fatigue among train workers.

On a recent weeknight at the Spuyten Duyvil station, few disembarking passengers seemed assuaged by the NTSB’s Feb. 18 proposals.