(The following article by David A. Michaels was posted on the Bergen Record website on March 30.)
BERGEN, N.J. — The Port Authority has slowed PATH trains to 5 mph on a stretch of track where trains have derailed twice in three days.
The authority and the Federal Railroad Administration are investigating the derailments, the more recent of which occurred Wednesday evening and affected one of the rear cars traveling between Hoboken and midtown Manhattan.
Anthony E. Shorris, the authority’s executive director, said there are “hints” that the accidents stemmed from the track’s alignment, which is routinely inspected.
“There are some hints when it happens twice and does not happen to the first car, or happens to a car that is moving fairly slowly,” Shorris said.
Michael DePallo, the director and general manger of PATH, described the derailments as a “minor bump” and said they were the first in at least 11 years. The accidents did minor damage to the third rail, which provides power to the trains, DePallo said.
“We want to try to get to the bottom of this,” DePallo said. “It is very unusual.”
PATH trains achieve a top speed of 15 to 17 mph, but are usually going about 8 mph at the spot where the derailments occurred, authority spokesman Marc La Vorgna said. The speed restrictions will add a “couple of minutes” to the commute, DePallo said.