Federal examiners should review the Long Island Rail Road to ensure it doesn’t have the same safety issues that led to a fatal Metro-North train derailment four months ago, a New York lawmaker said.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) is calling on the Federal Railroad Authority (FRA) to start an investigation into the LIRR a week after the FRA, in a report on the Bronx train crash that killed four in December, revealed that a “culture of safety” was lacking at Metro-North.
The LIRR is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, carrying more than 300,000 riders each weekday, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which also operates Metro-North, the second busiest.
Schumer noted that the LIRR has a good safety record, but that there have been “troubling incidents” in recent years and that Metro-North also had a near-flawless track record before a string of serious accidents.
The FRA report revealed a wide-spread lack of concern for safety procedures at Metro-North. Schumer said the FRA should use additional resources passed by Congress to ensure that these problems have not also spread to the LIRR.
