Local commuters discuss deadly train crash

HARLEM VALLEY — Last week an historic Metro-North Railroad accident at Valhalla station in Westchester left five Harlem Line passengers dead and 15 in the hospital, Tuesday evening, Feb. 3.The train, a 5:44 p.m. out of Grand Central Terminal, was not one upper Harlem line commuters would’ve typically taken.The 5:44 p.m. is an electric train that ends at Southeast station, where electric rail ends. Upper Harlem line commuters either take diesel “through” trains that can run on the traditional track up to Wassaic, or transfer to a diesel connection at Southeast. There would not have been a connection at Southeast until the next outbound through train, the 6:04 p.m. from Grand Central, arrived. Instead, many local commuters, like Millerton resident Paul Johnson and Amenia Councilperson Gretchen Hitselberger, were on the train before the 5:44 p.m: the 5:19 p.m. — a through train like the 6:04 p.m. Connecticut resident Spencer Reiss was on a train that left the station after the 5:44 p.m.Reiss was returning home after a day in the city on a train that left Grand Central around 7 p.m. At that point, he said, news of the crash had not spread and commuters who boarded the train knew only that there was no service past White Plains. “They didn’t say why, and I and a lot of other people figured it would be fixed by the time we got there,” he said. “So instead of turning around, I forged ahead. Then, when we were on the train, everybody started looking at their phones and realized it was this tremendous accident.”After the initial shock of learning what had happened, the travelers then had to figure out how they were going to get home.“We went uh-oh, now what are we going to do?“There were people milling around in the dark in North White Plains. It was chaos, with millions of cars because lots of people had called someone to get them in North White Plains, which is not that inconvenient if you live in Westchester.”Reiss managed to grab rides with other commuters who were able to call family or friends and get picked up. One person gave him a ride to Katonah, another drove him from there to Southeast. “I got to Southeast just as a train was leaving for Wassaic. There were only about three people on that train. A lot of people must have heeded the warning or were still stuck in the city or at White Plains. “In the end, I only got home about an hour later,” he said. Commuters on the 6:04 p.m., ended their ride at North White Plains, the station before Valhalla.The accident’s toll rippled into the next day as local commuters were detoured around the site by bus and other lines.Harlem line tickets were honored on New Haven and Hudson lines.While National Transportation Safety Board and Metro-North officials worked Wednesday investigating the accident and remedying the damage, Hitselberger and other locals endured their modified and extended commute.“In this scenario, with so much damage to the tracks, we knew the night of the accident that it was going to take much longer to clean,” the Amenia commuter said.The accident occurred when the train struck a Mercedes SUV — killing driver Ellen Brody inside — on the tracks at the station’s traffic crossing, The moving collision uprooted electric railing causing extensive damage to the tracks, as well as igniting flames that killed five passengers in the first train car.The circumstances leading up to the accident were still under investigation as of press time.Wednesday’s extra transfers and bus rides lengthened Hitselberger’s commute, but the rider felt more than the delay to her job at Columbia University and late return home.“Emotionally, it’s really tough because when you ride the commuter train, you know everybody — everybody says hello in the morning,” Hitselberger said.“When there’s an accident like this, the next day you’re sitting there looking to see who’s not there any more,” she added. “And sometimes it takes a couple weeks, but you do notice who’s not there any more, and you’re left wondering: is that the person who’s face you’re going to see on the news? Or is that the person who’s never going to ride the train anymore because of that accident?”Johnson, who commutes from Millerton to carry out his work as a lawyer in the city, did not take the train Wednesday but commended Metro-North for restoring the Harlem line by his next ride, Thursday morning. “I think they did a wonderful job fixing the railroad right away,” he said.Further, Johnson did not find the transit authority at any fault for the incident. “It is what it is, what can you do? It wasn’t Metro-North’s fault,” he said. “It was an unfortunate accident that had deadly consequences.”Hitselberger noted that upper Harlem riders should be comforted by the added protection a diesel train can offer.“I’ve been getting some comments from people up here about how fragile the trains can be,” she said. “The thing I keep reminding them is that, in the Harlem line, up to Wassaic, the diesel is pulling the train. Whereas over in Valhalla, that was an electric train, so they didn’t have a diesel engine that potentially protects the cars.”“So I guess you would say we’re a little bit more fortunate, or protected, that we’re on a diesel engine,” she said.The Amenia resident also praised the Metro-North conductors and engineers for their professionalism and care.