Four congressional representatives are calling for a House committee and subcommittee to hold a hearing on rail safety. Their urging comes following the fatal Metro-North commuter train derailment in the Bronx December 1.
Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney from the Hudson Valley and three other House of Representative Democrats have written to the chairmen and ranking members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, urging that they hold a hearing focused specifically on rail safety. Maloney penned the letter with New York’s Tim Bishop and Jerrold Nadler, and Connecticut’s Elizabeth Esty. All sit in the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Maloney and the others urged the committee heads to evaluate the rail safety program and consider whether existing safety measures should be strengthened, especially since the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 was allowed to expire October 1.
