NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut officials are marking the anniversary of a derailment on the Metro-North Railroad that injured more than 70 people in Bridgeport.
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes said in a statement on Saturday that while Metro-North has new leadership and a plan to improve safety, he’ll continue to press for rail safety legislation in Congress.
The May 17, 2013 derailment interrupted commuter service for several days.
In December, four people were killed in a derailment in the Bronx, in which a train engineer apparently fell asleep.
Himes and U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Elizabeth Esty sponsored a bill that among other things would require a failsafe device that would sound an alarm if a train engineer became idle.
A plan recently unveiled by Metro-North includes new protections to ensure engineers are not speeding or sleeping.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.