42 hurt in train crash outside Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA – A SEPTA Norristown High Speed Line train carrying passengers ran into an unoccupied train early Tuesday inside the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby, injuring 42 people, officials said.

None of the injuries appear to be life threatening, SEPTA said. The train’s operator was treated at Penn Presbyterian Hospital and released.

The train was carrying 41 passengers and the operator when the crash occurred about 12:15 a.m., said Heather Redfern, a SEPTA spokeswoman. The cause is under investigation.

Upper Darby emergency officials mobilized for a mass casualty incident after the call came in for the crash, responding immediately with about 20 ambulances. The injured were taken to eight area hospitals.

High Speed Line trains were operating between Norristown and Upper Darby Tuesday morning, running about every 20 minutes with no express service, SEPTA said.

A man who said he was a passenger on the train and would identified himself only as Ronnie from Havertown told YC News and other reporters at the scene that the train overshot the Gulph Mills and Bryn Mawr Stations and had to back up. Ronnie said he believed the problem was the brakes and not the operator.

The 69th Street Terminal was the scene of another crash in February. In that incident, a SEPTA Market-Frankford Line derailed in a rail yard when it crashed into a stopped train, seriously injuring one of the operators.

Despite its name, the Norristown High Speed Line, like the PATCO High Speed Line in New Jersey, is not a “fast train.” Its electrified light rail trains operate on a 13.4 mile line with 22 stations. The line’s express trains take 26 minutes to cover the distance while making stops at 17 stations.