Suspend Track Work Following 2nd Staff Death

By RICHARD STEIER

The second death of a Track Worker struck by a train in less than a week has prompted New York City Transit to suspend nonessential track repair work while employees receive renewed instruction in safety procedures.

Veteran Track Worker Marvin Franklin, 55, was fatally struck by a Queens-bound G train while crossing that track to perform repairs on the A/C line at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn St. station in downtown Brooklyn April 29. Fellow Track Worker Jeff Hill was also hit but was reported to be in stable condition at Bellevue Hospital.

Five days earlier, veteran Track Worker Daniel Boggs had been killed when hit by a downtown-bound 3 train at the Columbus Circle station in Manhattan.

'Need to Do Something'

After NYC Transit President Howard Roberts Jr. announced a "safety stand-down" to ensure that personnel were fully familiar with the rules for working on the subway tracks, Transport Workers' Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint told reporters at the scene of Mr. Franklin's death, "There are indications that something needs to be done differently in order to avoid a repetition of these horrific accidents."

Mr. Franklin was survived by a wife and son, according to the New York Times. Funeral services were held April 30 for Mr. Boggs.

'Train Out of Nowhere'

A lack of communication was a prime factor in the death of Mr. Boggs, 42, who was hit by an IRT train that had been diverted to the express track where he set down lanterns to warn of a work crew on the tracks.

Marc Albritton, the vice chairman of the Track Division of Transport Workers' Union Local 100, said that after a downtown express train that was expected to be the last one running on the night of April 24 had passed through the Columbus Circle station at about 11 p.m., a work train followed. That led Track Workers to believe they were free to proceed with their operations.

"They were firmly convinced that this was the last train of the night," he said in an April 27 phone interview. "Lo and behold, here comes a train out of nowhere."

A downtrain train running on the local track had experienced brake problems, and a No. 3 train that was running local was diverted to the express track in order to proceed around it. Mr. Albritton said that officials in the control tower who ordered the track change apparently did not realize that the first couple of workers from a group of 25 who were scheduled to do switch and rail replacements had stepped onto the express track to begin the process of flagging. The two men were placing lanterns on the adjoining tracks to let Train Operators know that they should proceed with caution in case workers were crossing the tracks.

At about 11:20 p.m., Mr. Boggs was fatally struck by the train. The brother of another transit worker, he is survived by a wife and three young children.

Wants Problem Fixed

Mr. Albritton said that transit officials had maintained that the general order to begin the maintenance work "was not yet in effect" at the time of the accident. He contended that the miscommunication should be addressed before future track work was undertaken.

NYC Transit declined to comment on the circumstances leading up to Mr. Boggs's death, saying that the agency's Office of System Safety had appointed a Board of Inquiry to do an independent probe to determine what went wrong.

"We will leave no stone unturned as we investigate the circumstances of this incident," Mr. Roberts said in a statement. "Daniel Boggs was a dedicated and hard-working employee who was well-liked and, more importantly, well-respected by his colleagues."

Mr. Albritton offered a similar characterization. "Mr. Boggs was a good guy," he said. "He was a great worker - never any complaints from him, never any complaints about him."