Major Safety Reforms Announced For Metro-North Railroad
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Six months after a deadly derailment in the Bronx, the Metro-North Railroad has announced a series of sweeping safety reforms.
A Federal Railroad Administration safety probe of the rail carrier was launched after the Dec. 1, 2013 derailment near the Spuyten Duyvil station on the Hudson Line. The derailment killed four people.
That was just one of a series of incidents that prompted Metro-North to review its safety procedures.
Reforms include speed reductions, quarterly safety reviews at work sites, and an automatic track inspection plan.
The FRA said in a report to Congress in March that Metro-North allowed safety to erode while pushing to keep its trains on time. The agency ordered the railroad to immediately "prioritize safety above all else'' and required Metro-North to submit plans of action within 60 days.
Metro-North President Joseph Giulietti, who took office after the Bronx derailment, said in March that the report was "deeply troubling and it raises real concerns.''
"Safety was not the top priority,'' he said. "It must be, and it will be. Every problem I have seen here can be fixed and will be fixed.'' He said "aggressive actions'' were already underway, including a program that would allow workers to make confidential calls raising safety issues.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories:
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
