Unique Design of Third Rail May Hold Clues to Crash Severity
The sport utility vehicle that was hit by a Metro-North train is removed from the site of the accident on Feb. 4, 2015 in Valhalla, New York.
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The unusual design of the electrified third rail on New York’s Metro-North Railroad has served the system well in more than 100 years of operation.
Now, it’s one of the areas investigators say they’re scrutinizing after sections of the high-voltage steel bar located to the side of the tracks was upended in a Feb. 3 vehicle collision and pierced a commuter train that then exploded into flames. Six people were killed in the railroad’s deadliest accident.