MTA: Queens F train derailment caused by track problems overlooked for 12 months
The MTA said it will take disciplinary action against three maintenance supervisors and an inspector following an investigation that found track defects left uncorrected for at least a year caused the F train derailment in Queens in May.
The report, released by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Friday, determined that a series of track-related problems were overlooked for at least 12 months, though two other broken rails in the same 19-foot section of track in Queens were fixed during that interval.
The track defects included a broken metal plate and fasteners beneath the rail that eventually broke. The rail tie under the plate also was in poor condition, according to the report.
“Individually, none of them was capable of causing a derailment,” the report said of the deficiencies, “but the combination of defects in one location was the most likely cause” of the derailment, which forced the emergency evacuation of approximately 1,000 riders. No one was killed.
Investigators reviewed images taken by a high-tech inspection car before the accident to determine that the problems went unrepaired for at least a year.
“The combination of the broken plate, broken fasteners and deteriorated tie should have been prioritized for repairs,” the MTA said in a press release Friday.
“The report concludes that Division of Track personnel did not identify, document and correct the track defect at that location, either during regular inspections or when the two prior broken rails were replaced. They also did not adequately investigate the underlying causes of the broken rails.”
There also were problems associated with the installation of the rail.
“The top of the rail that broke was installed with a 1/8-inch vertical mismatch where the new rail met the slightly worn existing rail,” the MTA’s release said.
“The metal joint bars used to fasten the two rails together were reused, and one of them had a sharp edge where the top of the joint bar met the underside of the rail head,” the report continued. “In addition, one of the six bolts required to secure the joint bar was not present.”
The report said nothing was wrong with the performance of the crew, the signal system, the subway cars or the manufacture of the rail itself.
Its findings, however, drew an immediate rebuttal from the Transport Workers Union, Local 100, which faulted the authority for purchasing rails made in China. The MTA said the rails were actually American-made.
“The MTA’s accusation that track personnel are to blame is scapegoating of the highest order. The issues they claim caused the derailment are minor,” the union said in a statement. “The real culprit here is defective rail. Since the F train derailment, track inspections have discovered at least 100 more cracked rails from this lot of new Chinese rail. Our advice: buy American steel to insure the integrity of the system.”
That statement prompted a denunciation from MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg.
“This claim is absolutely false and was utterly disproven by a careful scientific probe by an independent firm,” he said of the scapegoating charge. “These rails were made in the United States of America and showed no signs of any flaws whatsoever.”
The MTA said Friday it has taken several steps to ensure defects are identified and repaired, such as instituting new protocols and adding eight new track maintenance supervisors to the Division of Track.