The Metro-North passenger train that derailed last week killing 4 and injuring 60 others was reportedly speeding at 82 mph when entering the 30mph curve, a federal investigator has revealed.
The train was traveling faster than usual, but whether it was human error or brake trouble was still unclear.
The operator, William Rockefeller had claimed that he applied the brakes, but they didn't work.
According to the New York Post, the National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener said that the information on the train's speed was preliminary and extracted from the Metro-North train's two data recorders after the accident.
Weener said that the train was going too fast before hitting the curve adding that the throttle went to idle six seconds before the derailed train came to a complete stop and the brakes were fully engaged five seconds before the train stopped.
He further said that the investigators were also examining the operator's cellphone, to determine whether he was operating the train while distracted.
The report said that the NTSB has been urging railroads for decades to install technology that can stop wrecks caused by excessive speed or other problems, but the systems are expensive and complicated and cannot prevent an accident if there is a brake failure.
