LIRR train derails at Atlantic Terminal, NYPD says

Passenger describes LIRR accident in Brooklyn

A Long Island Rail Road train hit a bumping block and derailed at Brooklyn"s Atlantic Terminal during the morning rush hour on Wednesday, injuring at least 103 people, authorities said.

The Far Rockawaytrain was carrying about 430 passengers when it crashed through the final bumper on Track 6 atthe busy transit hub around 8:20 a.m.,causing two of the six train cars to derail, the FDNY and MTA said.

The train hitthe wall of a waiting area, and a rail pierced the train, FDNY assistant chief Daniel F. Donaghue said.

None of the injuries were life-threatening, the FDNY said. It"s not clear if all of the people hurt were passengers inside the train, fire officials said.

The injured were taken to Brooklyn Hospital Center, New York Methodist Hospital and Kings County Hospital.

MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast said it was not immediately known how fast the train was going when it entered the terminal, but that theengineer was probably responsible for failing to stop the train before it hit the bumper.

"At that speed, it"s pretty much the locomotive engineer"s responsibility to stop the train," Prendergast said.

The MTA is investigating what went wrong and why the operator did not stop the train before the bumping block.The Federal Railroad Administration has been notified and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, the MTA said.

The LIRRsaid on Twitter that service was operating "on or close to schedule" at Atlantic Terminal at about 11:30 a.m. No delays are expected during the evening commute.

Daniela Roth, of Valley Stream, said she was sitting in the first car of the train when it derailed."We started feeling the train jump the rail," she said. "Then we heard the metal screeching, and it felt like it was forever. And then we saw the smoke."

Roth said passengers "were catapulted," which caused anyone standing to fall. The front of the train appeared crushed, she said.

Another passenger,Wendy Gerzog, 57 of Lawrence, said "there was smoke all over," but she didn"t know where it was coming from.

Gerzog suffered some contusions, but said she was OK.

"We"re New Yorkers," she said. "We manage."

Gov. Andrew Cuomopraised the "fantastic" emergency response to the incident and said the accident was"minor" compared to the NJ Transit derailment in Hoboken, New Jersey, back in September, which killed one person and injured more than 100.

Less than three months ago, on oct. 8, alirr passenger train hit a work train and then derailed near Long Island"s New Hyde Park neighborhood, injuring 33 people and prompting days of service disruptions.

With Ivan Pereira and Lauren Cook

Source: http://www.amny.com/transit/lirr-train-derails-at-atlantic-terminal-nypd-says-1.12861181