MTA Metro-North Railroad announced that it is implementing a “sweeping series of safety reforms,” this in the wake of the devastating Spuyten Duyvil train derailment last December, which killed 4 people and injured 63 others.
According to the MTA’s website, the MTA is putting 27 safety initiatives into effect, responding to a safety report put in by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) that criticized Metro-North’s safety record.
“Safety was not the top priority. It must be. And it will be,” said Metro-North Railroad President Joseph Giulietti at a press conference regarding the FRA’s report. “I have a clear message for our customers and our employees: Safety must come first at Metro-North. I will not allow any Metro-North trains to run unless I’m confident that they will run safely.”
These new safety reforms include improving the training and monitoring of employees, reorganizing the safety department, creating a confidential close-call reporting system so employees can report safety issues, and will reduce the maximum operating speeds on all lines.
The MTA says it’s already acted on 14 of the 27 planned safety initiatives.
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The Metro-North train that crashed near the Spuyten Duyvil train station. The train crashed in December 2013.
Photos by Barry Solow / Flickr Commons
