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Turculet Doina, gr.203

Speed kills, and we now know that was true many times over for the Metro-North

train that derailed Sunday, killing four, injuring more than 60 and traumatizing

countless others.

Just as many of its passengers said, the Metro-North train that derailed Sunday was

hurtling at a horrifying speed just moments before jumping the tracks at a slow-

zone curve. Victims were doomed as soon as the engine hit 82 deadly mph as it

barreled into a 30 mph turn.

This preliminary data, released by the National Transportation Safety Board,

suggests only two possibilities: Motorman William Rockefeller found himself at

the controls of a runaway engine whose throttle and braking systems inexplicably

failed, or Rockefeller let it rip until it was tragically too late. He’s luck y to be alive,

but may well end up wishing it weren’t so.

Further suggesting human fault, the NTSB also revealed that a bare six seconds

before the train flew violently onto its side, Rockefeller’s throttle finally

disengaged, and the brakes fully engaged one second later. Tick, tick, tick, tick,

tick, tick — that’s all the frantic time there suddenly was.

Rockefeller, a 20- year MTA veteran who’s been an engineer for about 11 years,

has yet to complete his interviews with the NTSB. Associates have described him

as distraught, and put out word that he spoke of brake failure. Based on the

NTSB’s initial findings, he’ll have to do a lot better than that.

Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson has grounds to open a preliminary

investigation to determine whether Rockefeller is criminally culpable for the four

deaths and the many injuries.

But there’s more to look at here than Rockefeller’s conduct alone. Accountabilitymust run up the line, whatever the ultimate cause of the derailment. The apparently

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Turculet Doina, gr.203remote possibility of a massive systems failure must be examined, along with who

would be to blame if the circumstance were to prove true.

Should Rockefeller bear the weight, his supervisors and their supervisors cannot

dodge responsibility by asserting that there’s n othing they can do once a train pulls

out of the station.

What happens before is more important. MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast must

zero in on safety procedures, including training and retraining curriculum for staff,

to ensure those who run the trains are given all necessary instructions, and that

those rules are adhered to and enforced.

Then, Prendergast must swiftly turn to installing automatic equipment to enforce

lower speed limits. A 2008 federal law gives commuter and freight railroads until

the end of 2015 to install what are known as positive train control systems. In

effect, they make it impossible for a motorman to go too fast in designated areas.

Metro-North is in the process of installing the technology. Unlike the fateful train,

the MTA can’t go fast enough in getting it done on all lines.