Dec. 1, 2013 Spuyten Duyvil, NY Overspeed Derailment: Review
A Case Study
There never seems to be a tragic event of one type or another that we, the members of the general public, don’t wind up hearing and/or reading about. One that comes immediately to mind is the airliner that was forced to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River in New York City that on January 15, 2009 was brought down due to a bird strike. Both engines were directly impacted. The plane in question’s pilot was Chesley Burnett “Sully” Sullenberger III. Sully’s skillful if not heroic actions taken that day, as it turns out, is what saved the day. Clearly, the outcome was a successful one as all 155 people aboard made it off the plane unharmed.
Contrast this incident with one that happened on land, just beyond New York City limits: the derailment at Spuyten Duyvil on the morning of December 1, 2013. It was one in a rash of crashes on a number of railroads across America at the time, the most tragic, of course, being the September 12, 2008 head-on collision in southern California involving a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train, that resulted in the deaths of 25 (including that of Metrolink engineer Robert Sanchez) and sustained injuries to 135 that ranged in degree of severity. It is believed that had a safety protocol known as a Positive Train Control system been installed and fully functioning on the rail line where the collision occurred, the mishap would have been prevented.
Now, as to the Spuyten Duyvil mishap, in that, four people died while it was reported that injuries were suffered by 61 others. Including crew, 115 persons in all were onboard when the train in question derailed.
The incident occurred near the Spuyten Duyvil Station in the Bronx borough of New York City. The train derailed when traveling at a speed of 82 mph when it entered and proceeded through a curve on the Hudson Line with a 30 mph train-speed limit.
These kinds of events make headlines, obviously. And, through stories covering such on the day of, as well as those hitting the printed page, airwaves, and online screens in the days — and sometimes weeks — that follow, as members of the public, we get to learn more and more about the specifics or particulars of these occurrences.
But rarely I think it is that the public is presented through the same media-disseminating methods the important follow-up and follow-on stories, the ones where important related detailed information is revealed. Which means, for those like myself who are interested in learning, for example, what corrective action is or was initiated or taken in response to a given situation, it is up to us with well, to put it bluntly, inquiring minds, to search for said details.
Such being the case just recently in fact, when I took the initiative to make the several inquiries l did, as a means to learn more about what led to the derailment taking place at Spuyten Duyvil on December 1, 2013. As I understand it, the crash in this instance had to do with the engineer piloting the train having not had a sufficient amount of sleep prior to his going on duty earlier on the morning of that fateful day. As a result, this one incident led to key federal directives being handed down with other mitigating actions also being taken.
Via an issued but “undated” press release, here is what the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in it had to say.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today issued an industry-wide Safety Advisory to help ensure railroads adhere to federal regulations regarding maximum authorized train speed limits. The advisory contains four recommendations to ensure railroads comply with speed restrictions through appropriate operating policies, procedures and effective implementation.
“Safety is our highest priority, and the Metro-North crash illustrates how important it is for railroads to follow speed limits,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This Safety Advisory, along with the other enforcement measures we’ve taken, will remind all employees of the need to follow speed limits and will help improve safety across all rail lines.”
Today’s Safety Advisory provides guidance on four recommended measures FRA expects railroads to take action on immediately. Among them are:
Review the circumstances of the Dec. 1, 2013, Spuyten Duyvil derailment with their operating employees.
Provide instruction to employees during training classes and safety briefings on the importance of compliance with maximum authorized train speed limits and other speed restrictions.
Evaluate results of operational data regarding speed testing.
Reinforce the importance of communication between train crewmembers located in the controlling locomotive, particularly during safety-critical periods when multiple tasks are occurring and during extended periods of inactivity.
“Although the industry’s overall safety record is good, the Metro-North accident is a stark reminder of the need to remain vigilant in ensuring compliance with operational speed limits,” said Federal Railroad [Administration] Administrator Joseph C. Szabo. “Over the last decade, train accidents have declined by 43 percent nationally, a result of our rigorous safety regime, but we must always do better as we drive continuous safety improvement.”
Last week, the FRA issued Emergency Order 29 (EO 29) to Metro-North Commuter Railroad (MNCW) directing it to take specific, immediate steps to ensure its train crews do not exceed speed limits. EO 29 requires Metro-North to modify its existing signal system to ensure that operators obey speed limits, and to provide two qualified railroad employees to operate trains where major speed restrictions are in place until its signal system is modified. The FRA also issued a letter calling on Metro-North to launch a safety stand-down with all employees and to fully implement the confidential close-call reporting system, which has helped improve rail safety on other lines. Metro-North has written the FRA to outline its plans to comply with the directives, and the FRA will continue working directly with Metro-North staff as they implement the provisions.
The FRA had already increased its oversight and enforcement of Metro-North’s rail lines following the May 2013 crash, including additional inspections of its lines and audits of Metro-North’s operations and compliance with federal regulations. FRA is also planning to conduct an extensive investigation of the carrier’s safety compliance with all regulated railroad safety disciplines.[1]
Notes
Federal Railroad Administration, “Federal Railroad Administration Orders Industry-wide Safety Advisory to Ensure Compliance with Speed Restrictions” press release. https://railroads.dot.gov/elibrary/federal-railroad-administration-issues-industry-wide-safety-advisory-ensure-compliance
In an earlier version, Chesley Sullenberger’s nickname “Sully” was inadvertently spelled “S-i-l-l-y”. Mr. Sullenberger: My sincerest apologies are hereby extended.
Updated: May 5, 2025 at 9:20 a.m. PDT.
Image credit: National Transportation Safety Board via Wikimedia Commons
All material copyrighted 2025, Alan Kandel. All Rights Reserved.