One eastbound train derailed, coming to rest in the path of a westbound train that sideswiped it, damaging several cars and tearing up rails.

WSJ: Rail Corridor Hit With Major Outage

The attorney representing the engineer on the westbound train said other railroad employees have described repeated calls to replace the joint at the site of the derailment since early this year.

WSJ: Probe of Metro-North Derailment in Connecticut Focuses on Rail

Just 20 seconds elapsed between the time the first train came to rest and the moment it was struck by the westbound train, whose engineer had deployed emergency brakes to slow the train.

WSJ: Probe of Metro-North Derailment in Connecticut Focuses on Rail

Using interviews, inspections of wreckage and reviews of maintenance data, NTSB investigators have determined that the first, eastbound Metro-North train derailed and came to a stop in the path of an approaching westbound train.

WSJ: Probe of Metro-North Derailment in Connecticut Focuses on Rail

The eastbound train, headed to New Haven from Grand Central Terminal, derailed at about 6:10 p.m. just east of the Fairfield Metro station, and hit a westbound train on the opposite track, Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said, knocking several cars of that train off the rails.

WSJ: Train Derailment Injures Dozens

The pink, rectangular icon on the computer screen representing the progress of PATH train 5780 blinked, as the cars rolled out on the westbound tracks from the World Trade Center station.

WSJ: PATH's Road Back Is Rocky