Authors: U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

Date of Publication:  1982

Sponsoring Agency:  U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

Performing Organization:  U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

Report No: SIR-82-2

Abstract:

Authority (NYCTA) southbound No. 3 subway train, designated 527A 148/FA, departed on track No. 2 after making a, station stop at Times Square Station in New York City, New York. Moments later, while the train was accelerating, a traction motor fell from under the third car. The third car derailed and caused the fourth car to derail also. As the fourth car derailed, it turned away from the track structure and its front end struck the steel posts separating tracks Nos. 1 and 2. The rear of the car then struck the concrete curtain wall that separated track No. 2 and track M. Twelve passengers were injured and damage was estimated to be $287,000.

Three other derailments involving a traction motor falling from an NYCTA car to the tracks occurred between January 12, 1981, and March 7, 1982. The derailment of December 15, 1981, in which 12 passengers were injured, was the most severe of the four derailments; however, because of the Safety Board’s concern that four similar derailments should occur within 15 months, and its continued concern about inspection and maintenance practices of the NYCTA, all four derailments were investigated and are discussed in this report.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of each of the four derailments was the failure of the inspection procedures of the New York City Transit Authority to detect that the traction motor mounts had failed and that the motors were riding on axles before they dropped to the tracks. Contributing to the accidents was the failure of the New York City Transit Authority to take prompt action to detect, analyze, and correct the cause of the motor mount failures.