Train outage expected for days in US Northeast
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BRIDGEPORT, Connecticut (AP) - Tens of thousands of commuters are bracing for a difficult trip around southwest Connecticut and to New York City beginning Monday as workers repair the Metro-North commuter rail line crippled by a derailment that injured scores of passengers.
Crews will spend days rebuilding 600 metres of track, overhead wires and signals following the collision between two trains on Friday evening that injured 72 people, Metro-North President Howard Permut said on Sunday. Nine remained hospitalised.
"This amounts to the wholesale reconstruction of a two-track electrified railroad," he said.
Several days of around-the-clock work will be required, including inspections and testing of the newly rebuilt system, Permut said. The damaged rail cars were removed from the tracks on Sunday, the first step toward the repairs.
