Staten Island Train Goes Off the Rails in Tottenville

Billy Parker

Published Dec 27, 2008

Modified Dec 27, 2008

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Billy Parker

Published Dec 27, 2008

Modified Dec 27, 2008

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A car at the end of a commuter rail almost tried to make the leap for New Jersey when a Staten Island Railway train derailed at the end of its line as it approached Arthur Kill in Tottenville. No one was injured and New York City Transit is still investigating the cause of what led to the train going through the "bumper block" after its 40-minute trip from the ferry terminal at around 6:30 a.m. yesterday morning. That investigation requires that the crew of the train must all undergo mandatory drug and alcohol testing. Onlookers were surprised at just how close the train came to the narrow strip of water that separates the island from New Jersey. “Holy smokes, you have to be going pretty fast to go this far,” one commuter remarked to the Times. This was the first deraliment since last year for the Staten Island, which began running in 1860—over 40 years before the subway's arrival.