New York News

Senators Push Harder For Rail Safety

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published May 15, 2015 at 7:16 AM EDT

Two U.S. Senators will lay out a four point plan for rail safety this morning.

Senators Chuck Schumer and Richard Blumenthal will be at New York’s Penn Station just after 10 a.m. to launch a major push to get Congress to finally prioritize rail safety in 2015. Their campaign comes in the wake of that tragic Amtrak derailment on Tuesday night that killed at least eight passengers and injured over 200; the train was traveling over 100 miles per hour in a 50 miles per hour curve. Schumer and Blumenthal will point out this is unfortunately the latest derailment in a series of deadly rail tragedies and underscores the urgent need for investment in rail safety technology and modernized infrastructure.

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Dave Lucas

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.

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