Deadly Crash Closes Metro-North Line

Service on Metro-North's Harlem line is suspended this morning following a deadly Westchester County crash that killed seven late yesterday afternoon.

The train out of Grand Central Terminal was going northbound on the Harlem line when it struck a Jeep Cherokee at the Commerce Street crossing in Valhalla at about 6:30 p.m., officials said. The Jeep was stopped on the tracks when the railroad crossing gates came down on top of it, according to MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan. The driver got out to look at the back of the car, then got back in and drove forward when the train struck the Jeep, pushing it about 10 train-car lengths up the track. The Jeep driver and six passengers on the train were killed in the crash, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news conference Tuesday night. The crash is the deadliest in the history of the Metro-North Railroad. Six hundred and fifty people were on board train No. 659, which departed Grand Central at 5:45 p.m. The train made one stop at 125th Street in Harlem before it proceeded express toward Chappaqua, the MTA said.

Some passengers were forced to smash train doors and windows to escape the flames. Federal investigators are on the scene. Metro-North's last fatal incident took place just over a year ago when four were killed after the engineer fell asleep at the controls.

All NYC Mass Transit To Close At 11PM

This includes subways, buses, ferries, PATH, Metro-North, Long Island Railroad, and (perhaps obviously) AirTrain. New Jersey Transit will suspend all rail service until Thursday at 8PM tonight. No re-start time for the MTA has yet been announced. Wherever you are at 11PM, you'll likely be there for 36-48 hours.

UPDATE: Gov. Cuomo has also declared a ban on all non-emergency vehicular traffic beginning at 11PM, warning that those caught on the roads will be ticketed and fined $300.

NEW YORK CITY: At Least Four Dead In Metro-North Train Derailment In Bronx

A Grand Central-bound Metro-North train filled with returning holiday travelers derailed this morning in the Bronx.  Emergency responders report at least four deaths and dozens of injuries.

The train appeared to be going “a lot faster” than usual as it approached the tricky curve coming into Spuyten Duyvil station, passenger Frank Tatulli told WABC-TV. “It [the train] left them [tracks] because it went too fast,” said Tatulli, who rides this same train every Sunday morning. Neighborhood resident Brendan Conley said he was jarred awake by a loud boom. “I thought I heard what I thought was a building collapsing,” Conley, 22, told The Post. “I came to the window and saw people walking across the tracks. Smoke was coming out of the second car that rolled over. I yelled for my mom to call the fire department. I stood there and saw 40 or 50 people come climbing out of the train on their own.” Tracks involved in Sunday’s crash serve Metro-North’s Hudson line, including station stops in bedroom communities like Peekskill, Croton-Harmon, Ossining, Dobbs Ferry and Yonkers.

Rail Service Suspended Indefinitely After Metro-North Commuter Train Crash

Commuters may face weeks of difficulty in getting to New York City after Friday's train collision, which left dozens injured.

Metro-North's New Haven Line service east of Fairfield -- and Amtrak's service between New York and Boston -- was suspended in the wake of the crash, and authorities said it could take two weeks or more before service resumes. The investigation is expected to run from seven to 10 days, the NTSB's Earl Weener said, and only after the investigation is complete can Metro-North crews begin the labor-intensive process of repairing the rails and the overhead catenary wires that provide power to the trains.

Metro-North's New Haven line alone has a monthly ridership of over three million. Grand Central may be a ghost town this week.

CONNECTICUT: Dozens Injured, Five Critically, In Commuter Train Collision

Last night two Metro-North commuter trains collided near Fairfield, Connecticut after a southbound train derailed at 60mph.  Dozens were injured, five critically.

The derailed train apparently clipped the front of the oncoming train then scraped along its side, officials said. About 700 people were thrown about the two trains when they collided, said MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan. “It wasn’t a straight head-on collision, but the fronts of the two trains struck each other,” Metro-North spokesman Aaron Donovan said.  Malloy said 60 passengers were rushed to St. Vincent’s and Bridgeport hospitals. Five were in critical condition, and one was in very critical condition, Malloy said. The National Transportation Safety Board will lead an investigation with the FBI, the Connecticut Office of Emergency Management and the Federal Railroad Administration to determine the cause of the derailment, but Malloy doesn’t believe the rails were sabotaged.

Metro-North is the nation's busiest commuter rail service.

UPDATE: Commenters on Breitbart are blaming the president. And unions. And "Connecticut libtards."