Officials said the goal of the exercise was to “ensure the participants' familiarization with Metro-North’s Passenger Train Emergency Plan, emergency response procedures and equipment."
“We never want to see the scenarios happen in real life, but it is good to know that the MTA Metro-North Railroad and our first responders are prepared with the tools and knowledge to handle these types of incidents,” said Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell, who was on hand to witness the Nov. 21 exercise. “Seeing everyone in action reaffirmed my confidence in the abilities of the first responders who are committed to keeping the residents of Putnam County safe.”
The drill involved a scene in which a passenger train traveling north along the Harlem Line struck a car on the tracks resulting in injuries to passengers in the front two cars, according to a statement released after the training.
Some Metro-North staff and emergency responders posed as victims while others conducted the operation.
Metro-North staff and first responders trained in the response and recovery actions that should be taken if such an accident were to actually occur. Those involved focused on critical transportation, operational coordination, mass search-and-rescue operations, public health and medical services, on-scene security, protection and law enforcement, and operational communication.
The exercise also allowed responders to demonstrate incident management and coordination between the Metro-North entities, local dispatch centers and on-scene Unified Command, and provided the opportunity to evaluate a number of rail-based search and rescue operations.
“Ensuring the safety and security of our customers, employees, and the public at large is the most important thing we do,” said Metro-North President Joseph Giulietti.
More than a dozen agencies from New York and Connecticut participated in the drill in addition to Metro-North, the MTA and Brewster Fire Department.
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