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No one was injured, Boucher said in a statement Friday, "yet the incident is still a worrisome echo of the problems which have plagued Metro North over the past few years and which the railroad has been working hard to overcome with new leadership, training and safety procedures."
In the Thursday incident, Metro-North said the wheel of one train went off the rails. At the time, no passengers were aboard the train, which partially blocked the track leading to the New Canaan station for much of the day. Equipment was used to reposition the car back on the track.
"Although nobody was hurt, commuters still encountered delays while Metro-North worked to restore service," said Boucher, who represents Bethel, New Canaan, Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport and Wilton in the state Senate.
As a result of the derailment, substitute buses ran in place of trains along the New Canaan Branch for much of Thursday, until train service was restored early Thursday evening.
"Although progress has been made with regard to safety and the DOT did the right thing by classifying a minor nonlife-threatening incident as a derailment, any occurrence of this kind should be taken very seriously and full disclosure of the investigations results provided," said Boucher, who is the ranking member of the legislative Transportation Committee.
"Of particular concern is that if the New Canaan Line, which is relatively up-to-date, should have suffered a derailment, what about the other branch lines operating on older technology?" she said.
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