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Blumenthal Pushes To Pass Four-Point Railroad Safety Plan

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D- Conn.) and Charles Schumer (D- N.Y.) were at Penn Station in New York City on Friday in an effort to push for the passage of a four-point railroad safety legislation package. 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

Photo Credit: File
Sen. Charles Schumer.

Sen. Charles Schumer.

Photo Credit: Sen. Charles Schumer Facebook page

The legislation package includes four measures aimed at preventing fatal accidents like the Amtrak derailment that occurred on Tuesday night. 

  • The Positive Train Control Safety Act would require the rail industry to move to install Positive Train Control, a life-saving technology used to slow down trains in order to help prevent crashes and collisions.
  • The Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Act would allocate resources towards safety upgrades at rail crossings, like new lights and signals. The act would also bolster funding to install lights and signals at crossings, build bridges and tunnels to separate roadways from rail track and help better safeguard pedestrians and drivers from future collisions.
  • The Rail Safety Improvement Act would mandate inward and outward facing cameras, increased track inspection, require greater use of modern inspection technology and stepped up enforcement of speed restrictions, and fines up to $1 million for safety violations on all railroads.
  • The legislation also calls on congress to increase infrastructure spending, specifically Amtrak spending and Highway funding, through the Highway Trust Fund and the Amtrak reauthorization and appropriation process. 

We need immediate, sweeping investment and reform to restore public trust and confidence in our nation’s railroads," Blumenthal said in a statement. "The cascading catastrophes, derailments, spectacular crashes, senseless deaths and injuries and needless mundane delays have eroded and undermined public confidence in our rail system. We can and must do better. Our approach has been patch and pray and we now need substantial investment.”

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