Train crashed into platform at Hoboken Terminal

http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/29/us/new-jersey-hoboken-train-crash/index.html

Channel 11 has good coverage. Terrifying.

Oh no. I hope nobody is seriously hurt.

It looks like alot of people are hurt.

I'm listening to 1010. Not a lot of information about injuries.... I have heard a dozen to over 100.

Rockland County Train

Pascack Valley line train. Confirmed by news outlets.

beppolina said:

Channel 11 has good coverage. Terrifying.

Actually the first live news briefing I viewed was from PIX 11 and they mistakenly called it a PATH train crashing.

Terrible news. Hoboken used to be my station. NBC saying, as of now, one is dead and up to 100 injured.

Three dead so far It was coming in on track 5 right in front of waiting room Both my kids are safe Oh Lawd so frightening

hope this isn't terrorism. Too early to know but how does a train not even slow down a little?

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Major-Train-Accident-in-Hoboken-Injuries-Reported-395249051.html

algebra2 said:

hope this isn't terrorism. Too early to know but how does a train not even slow down a little?

As always, when things like this happen, it is worth waiting for the facts. In this case, I guess we might not know why the train didn't stop for a pretty long time.

NBC reporting now that a NJ Transit engineer reports that the wrecked trains engineer may have been killed.

One of the train passengers said the train was overcrowded, SRO. He said their train is usually shorted cars (sound familiar MTD commuters?), and, as usual, as soon as the train neared the station, people started moving to the front cars so they could get off the train first (again, sound familiar?). Right after they figure out HOW this happened, authorities have to address the overcrowding on all NJT trains and force the conductors to not allow people to jam the front cars while the train is still moving. Shoulda, woulda, coulda, but if the cars weren't so overcrowded, there would not have been such a large amount of casualties. My prayers are with everyone involved and their families. There but for the grace of God.....

librarylady said:

Three dead so far It was coming in on track 5 right in front of waiting room Both my kids are safe Oh Lawd so frightening

Saint Christopher the patron saint of travelers never really left the job

I have been riding in between cars on the approach to Hoboken for 40 years. Maybe I should stay in my seat going forward

Anthem said:

I have been riding in between cars on the approach to Hoboken for 40 years. Maybe I should stay in my seat going forward

+1

I was told that the areas between the cars are designed to be crumple zones. It's the apparently the worst place to be if there's an accident. That's the reason we are told to stay inside the train cars until the train has stopped.

Being reported that one fatality was a woman who was in the station, but not on the train itself

Having been in a train accident 30 years ago, I am quite aware of the danger of standing in the aisles before a complete stop. Haven't done that for the last 30 years, and always wondered why it is so important to do so just to exit a couple of seconds faster. Now do you think other people will get the idea? Probably not.

So frightening, both for this particular incident and also as we consider our typical train habits (like standing at the doorway as train approaches the station.)

Does anyone know if there were any Morris-Essex trains recently arrived in the station ahead of that train? Trying to figure out who to be trying to contact ...

wedjet said:

NBC reporting now that a NJ Transit engineer reports that the wrecked trains engineer may have been killed.

Killed? Not dead of a heart attack or something?

ETA: I was wondering if the train crashed because the engineer was incapacitated...

I would think worst injuries might be people on the platform rather than in the cars. There are always passersby there, walking in and out of the terminal, down to PATH, etc. Imagine how shocked you would be to see a train speeding towards you and perceive, perhaps too late to jump away, that it isn't going to stop.

iwasmim said:

I would think worst injuries might be people on the platform rather than in the cars. There are always passersby there, walking in and out of the terminal, down to PATH, etc. Imagine how shocked you would be to see a train speeding towards you and perceive, perhaps too late to jump away, that it isn't going to stop.

That's true, but also the roof of the terminal collapsed on to the first and second train cars. So much destruction, it's unbelievable.

Scary. 8:45 used to be my (and many of my colleagues) arrival time in Hoboken. Hope they're all okay.

Not clear that engineer is dead, mixed reports. Many outlets reporting 3 dead - channel 7 and NYT are sticking with one; nj.com had reported 3, now saying "at least one"

apple44 said:

Not clear that engineer is dead, mixed reports. Many outlets reporting 3 dead - channel 7 and NYT are sticking with one; nj.com had reported 3, now saying "at least one"

yes, NBC has backtracked on the report that the engineer was dead (although I don't know how he could have survived looking at that train damage). Just now they said 1 dead, a woman.

mrmaplewood said:

Having been in a train accident 30 years ago, I am quite aware of the danger of standing in the aisles before a complete stop. Haven't done that for the last 30 years, and always wondered why it is so important to do so just to exit a couple of seconds faster. Now do you think other people will get the idea? Probably not.

I hear what you're saying. But statistically speaking, it's more dangerous to walk on a sidewalk in NYC than it is to stand on a commuter train coming into a station. The possibility of an accident is so remote that people don't consider it.

Nightmare.

May want to consider a second sticky to organize and connect those needing a ride home tonight (and possibly in tomorrow) with people who drive in the area, since travel is going to be severely disrupted.

I am sure there are a lot of SOMA people who are going to need a way out.