Engineer noted ‘unusual’ track

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The engineer of the commuter train that derailed last week in Connecticut observed an “unusual condition” on the track before the wreck, federal officials said Friday without explaining what the condition was, though they did say repair work was done last month in the area of the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board has previously ruled out foul play, but it has not yet determined a cause of the May 17 crash that injured more than 70 people and disrupted service for days on the railroad used by tens of thousands of commuters north of New York City.

The safety board did sayFriday that a joint bar, used to hold two sections of rail together, had been cracked and repaired last month and that rail sections in the area of the derailment have been shipped to Washington for further examination.

Metro-North railroad is conducting an inspection and inventory of all the joint bars on its main tracks, the board said.

The eastbound train from New York City derailed during evening rush hour in Bridgeport, came to a stop and was struck about 20 seconds later by a westbound train, the board said.

The westbound engineer applied the emergency brakes before striking the eastbound train.

Front Section, Pages 5 on 05/25/2013

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