Metro-North's New Haven Line Back On Schedule After Repairs
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Regular train service has returned to Connecticut, five days after a derailment injured scores of commuters and damaged tracks.
Commuter rail service from Connecticut to New York City, along with Amtrak service between Boston and New York, was back on schedule Wednesday morning.
PHOTOS: Crews Repairing Damaged Track
Aaron Donovan, a spokesman for Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said there were no major problems or delays reported.
"Everything is running smoothly," he told 1010 WINS. "The trains are running at full strength for the first time since Friday."
Metro-North Gets Back On Track
He said trains are running at a reduced speed of 30 mph through the area where the tracks were repaired. He said that is standard practice for new tracks and was adding only a few minutes to the morning commute.
About 700 people were on board the trains Friday when one heading east from Grand Central Terminal to New Haven derailed just outside Bridgeport.
It was hit then by a train heading west from New Haven to Grand Central on an adjacent track, MTA officials said. Some cars on the second train also derailed as a result of the collision.
The crash injured 72 people and snarled the commutes for roughly 30,000 people who normally use the train, forcing travelers to navigate a patchwork of cars, trains and buses.
Crews had been working around the clock since Saturday to repair the damaged track.
The National Transportation Safety Board has said it is looking at two sections of rail found at the crash scene which appear to have broken apart, to determine if the damage occurred during or before the crash.
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