(The following article by Brian Lockhart was posted on the Stamford Advocate website on June 15.)
NORWALK, Conn. — An Amtrak locomotive derailed near the South Norwalk train station yesterday afternoon, stranding 230 passengers for nearly three hours and shutting down Metro-North Railroad’s Danbury line for the evening commute.
The incident, which drew dozens of Metro-North and Amtrak officials and Norwalk police, remained under investigation last night.
The train was put back on line just before 7:30 p.m. and service was restored last night.
At about 1:15 p.m., the engine of a train traveling from Boston to New York City jumped the tracks crossing over Washington Street in SoNo.
The engine, which did not appear to be severely damaged, remained upright.
The adjoining train cars lost power but did not derail. Metro-North spokesman Dan Brucker said he had no reports of injuries to the passengers or crew.
The cars were hauled by another engine to Bridgeport just before 4 p.m. and passengers caught a different train to New York City. A crane arrived in SoNo to lift the engine back onto the tracks.
“When they finally get it pulled out of the way, they have to do a track exam, track repair and test it,” Brucker said.
The accident occurred at the switch between the main New Haven Line and the Danbury branch line.
Metro-North was working to find bus transportation for stranded Danbury branch passengers, but it was proving difficult because vehicles are being used for the Waterbury branch and at the U.S. Open golf tournament in Mamaroneck, N.Y., Brucker said.
The accident also caused some minor inconvenience for southbound New Haven Line passengers stopping between Bridgeport and South Norwalk, he said.
Brucker said yesterday’s investigation resulted in southbound trains being rerouted on express tracks, skipping local stops.
The Amtrak passengers were asked to remain on board while they awaited their lift to Bridgeport.
Many huddled in the passageways between cars seeking air and drinking bottled water.
Amy Siegel of Colorado and her son, Robert, 12, had been visiting friends in Boston and were planning on spending the day in New York City before catching a flight home to Denver.
They missed an earlier train and wound up stuck in South Norwalk for the afternoon.
Siegel said the derailing was uneventful.
“The train just stopped,” she said.
As he surveyed the stuck engine, an Amtrak employee said it had been a “tough day.”
“But it could have been a lot worse,” he said.