One dead and many critical after rail crash

Commuter train crashed through barrier at busy station

A woman was killed and more than 100 others injured, many critically, when a crowded rush-hour commuter train crashed through a barrier at a busy station in New Jersey and lurched across the waiting area, authorities said.

People pulled concrete off bleeding victims and passengers kicked out windows and crawled out amid crying and screaming after the arriving New Jersey Transit train ran off the end of its track at Hoboken station.

It apparently knocked out pillars as it ground to a halt in a covered waiting area, collapsing a section of the roof onto the first car.

Ross Bauer, an IT specialist who was heading to his Manhattan job from his home in Hackensack, was sitting in the third or fourth car when the train was pulling into the historic 109-year-old station for its final stop.

“All of a sudden, there was an abrupt stop and a big jolt that threw people out of their seats. The lights went out, and we heard a loud crashing noise – like an explosion – that turned out to be the roof of the terminal,” he said.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said one person was killed. Of the more than 100 others injured, 74 were taken to hospital some in a critical condition, according to NJ Transit and area hospitals.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent investigators to the scene.

The train’s engineer was found slumped over the controls in the heavily damaged first car. The engineer’s condition was not immediately clear.

Pictures: AP. Top: Emergency services at the scene and, above right, wreckage at the station. Left: A passenger is led away after speaking to reporters.