THE BRONX — A freight train derailed in Hunts Point Wednesday morning, forcing Amtrak to suspend service between Penn Station and New Rochelle.
Eight cars derailed when the train crashed at the CSX Oak Point Yard at Longwood and Garrison avenues about 10:05 a.m., CSX spokesman Rob Doolittle said.
We're aware of the freight derailment affecting service into/out of NYP. We'll provide updates about impact to service as soon as possible.
— Amtrak Northeast (@AmtrakNEC) October 5, 2016
No one was believed to be injured.
Seven of the eight cars were empty, but one car carrying lumber turned over as well, spilling the timber onto the CSX tracks and the adjacent Amtrak tracks, Dootlittle said.
The derailment comes six days after an NJ Transit commuter train plowed into a station in Hoboken, killing a woman and leaving more than 100 others injured.
Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-Queens) last Friday urged New York Atlantic Railway to make major safety improvements following last week's New Jersey crash and a derailment in Maspeth, Queens, last year in which a freight train slammed into a tractor-trailer.
She continued to make calls for safety after Wednesday's accident.
"While we don't yet know the specifics surrounding this incident in The Bronx, safety must always be the top priority," Meng said. "Nobody — passengers, train personnel, motorists, area residents — should ever be put at risk."
