Donohue: MTA should learn from Metro-North accidents and take F train derailment seriously

FDNY firefighters use an emergency staircase to evacuate passengers from a derailed F train on Friday in Woodside, Queens.

When a Metro-North commuter train derailed in Bridgeport, Conn., on May 17, the mishap didn't trigger any sense of urgency — and eleven days later, another accident killed a worker. Though mainline subway derailments like Friday's are rare, the MTA cannot afford to coast on its record of safety.

That’s what I’d like the MTA’s subway managers to ponder after an F train carrying approximately 1,000 riders derailed in a tunnel beneath Woodside, Queens, Friday.

For years, the Metro-North Railroad, another division of the MTA, had a stellar reputation for safety and reliability. It all started to unravel on May 17 in Bridgeport, Conn. A track defect caused a commuter train to derail. It encroached onto an adjacent track — where it was soon slammed by another train.

Dozens were injured in the Connecticut mishap but it didn’t trigger any sense of urgency. Eleven days later, a Metro-North train was mistakenly rerouted into a track gang’s work zone in West Haven, Conn. Foreman Robert Luden, 52, was struck and killed.

In December, a speeding Metro-North train flew off the rails in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. Four passengers were killed and Samuel Rivera, an off-duty railroad worker, was paralyzed. In March, another Metro-North track worker, Jimmy Romansoff, 58, was struck and killed by a train, this time in Manhattan