(Newsday posted the following article by Joie Tyrrell on its website on September 8.)
NEW YORK — State leaders urged the state and the MTA to speed up its investigation into dangerous platform gaps, a day after a 4-year-old Huntington Station girl fell to the tracks between an LIRR train and the platform in Penn Station.
Also, federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board, which is already investigating platform gaps on the Long Island Rail Road after the August death of a Minnesota teen, are looking into Wednesday’s accident involving Brittany Walker, who was rescued from the tracks with only minor injuries.
“Although the timely intervention of Metropolitan Transportation Authority police saved this young girl from serious harm, the incident further demonstrates the urgency of this threat,” read a letter faxed yesterday from state Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) to state Department of Transportation Commissioner Thomas J. Madison Jr., who is chairman of the state Public Transportation Safety Board. A similar letter was also faxed to Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman Peter Kalikow.
State Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset) also agreed to the push, a spokeswoman said.
State Department of Transportation officials launched an investigation in August covering about 250 LIRR and Metro-North rail stations, which should be complete by January. It will include technical and operational recommendations.
“It is ongoing and we will continue to work as diligently as possible to complete the review,” said Carol Breen, spokeswoman for state DOT, adding that Madison has not yet seen the letter. MTA officials also said the chairman has not seen the letter.
On Aug. 5, 18-year-old Natalie Smead of Minnesota fell through a gap at the Woodside station and was fatally struck by a train when she crawled to the other side of the platform in an attempt to climb up.
The NTSB, in conjunction with the LIRR, started investigating gap concerns on the railroad after the death of Smead and a Newsday survey that measured gaps at some platforms, finding at least one measuring 15 inches at the Syosset station.
Yesterday, NTSB officials said that investigators were aware of Brittany’s fall 15 minutes after it happened.
“Any time that we are doing an investigation, we look at similar situations or trends regarding a particular accident,” said NTSB spokesman Terry Walker. “We have been in touch with the Long Island Rail Road and the [MTA] police in gathering information from them.”
LIRR officials did not specify the size of the gap, saying it was part of the investigation. It took about 11 minutes for Brittany to be rescued from Track 18 by MTA police, according to LIRR spokeswoman Susan McGowan. The girl suffered minor scrapes.
Brittany’s mother, Terriann Walker, said yesterday she learned of the gap problems after her daughter’s accident. Walker and her four children were walking toward the train when Brittany, who was ahead of her mother, slipped through the gap, her mother said. MTA police told Walker not to reach into the gap to avoid electrocuting herself or her daughter.
Brittany asked her later: “‘Momma, why didn’t you come get me?'” her mother recalled yesterday.
“It really hurt my heart that I couldn’t reach down there and get her,” Walker said as Brittany clung to her leg and sucked a cherry lollipop outside their Huntington Station home.
The family, originally from Jackson, Miss., was displaced after Hurricane Katrina and moved to Long Island.
Newsday measured five spots along Track 18 yesterday afternoon, finding the largest space – just over 12 inches – at the back of the train, where the platform curves most noticeably.
Near the front and middle of the train, where Brittany boarded, the gaps measured between 6 and 8 inches.
Some cautioned against investigations moving too fast.
“It needs to be done quickly but also thoroughly, and you can’t have knee-jerk recommendations,” said Beverly Dolinsky, executive director of the LIRR Commuter’s Council.
Other large rail systems reported yesterday that gap issues were rare.
On New Jersey Transit, with an average weekday ridership of 252,400, the average gap spans about 7 inches, but some can be larger, up to 10 to 12 inches, said spokesman Dan Stessel. He said he can’t recall a fatality.
“The vast majority of those are minor injuries, scrapes, bruises, that kind of thing,” he said.
Platforms are straight on the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation System, which serves Philadelphia, not curved like those on the LIRR which can lead to wider gaps.
“We don’t have any significant gaps,” said spokesman Jim Whitaker.
Staff writer Karla Schuster contributed to this story.
A hole lot of problems
Aug. 5: Natalie Smead, 18, of Northfield, Minn., is killed when she is hit by a train after falling into gap at Woodside LIRR station.
Aug. 7: Investigators say gap at Woodside station may have been 6 to 8 inches wide.
Aug. 8: Newsday reporters find 11-inch gap at Woodside station. Gaps at other LIRR stations range from 5 to 15 inches.
Aug. 9: As past victims of gaps come forward (at right), LIRR president Jim Dermody pledges to investigate possible solutions, including gap-fillers, used at three New York City subway stations but not on the LIRR. State Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) demands state investigation.
Aug. 11: Dermody announces plan to install video monitors at Syosset station to help motormen spot people falling into gaps.
Aug. 15: LIRR announces plan to measure gaps at all train stations.
Aug. 22: Dermody acknowledges that the LIRR has known about the gap problem for years but thought that posted signs were educating riders (at right). State officials announce their own efforts to survey the gap widths of all LIRR and Metro-North stations.
Aug. 23: National Transportation Safety Board announces it is investigating the cause of Smead’s death.
Sept. 6: Brittany Walker, 4, falls into gap while boarding a Huntington-bound train at Penn Station. She is not seriously injured.