TEST FINDS COCAINE AFTER A DERAILMENT

Transit officials said yesterday that a motorman at the controls of a
Staten Island Railway train that derailed on Jan. 11 had tested positive
for cocaine use and been suspended without pay. There were no injuries in
the derailment.

The motorman, whose name was not released by New York City Transit, has
worked for the agency since August 2000. Although his job requires him to
undergo random drug tests, his name had not been selected for the tests
since he began working. A drug test is mandatory immediately after any
accident.

The agency said it would try to dismiss the man. The cause of the
derailment is still unclear, and it is not known whether the motorman was
under the influence of drugs while driving the train.

"We are conducting a thorough investigation into the accident to determine
if the presence of drugs in the operator's system contributed to the
accident or if the cause lies elsewhere," said Lawrence G. Reuter, the
agency's president.

Since New York City Transit began mandatory random drug screening in the
wake of a deadly crash at the Union Square station in 1991, the rate of
employees' testing positive has been less than 1 percent.