Lawmakers delay train safety system for 3 more years

Legislators have postponed a mandate to install new brake systems in trains across the country.  The House is in the process of passing a bill that delays the installation for another three to five

News 12 Staff

Oct 28, 2015, 4:32 PM

Updated 3,112 days ago

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Lawmakers delay train safety system for 3 more years
Legislators have postponed a mandate to install new brake systems in trains across the country. 
The House is in the process of passing a bill that delays the installation for another three to five years. 
Installing the brakes would automatically slow or stop trains that are in danger of colliding or derailing due to excessive speed, reports say. 
The technology, known as "positive train control," would have prevented 145 rail accidents since 1969, and federal accident investigators say the deadly Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia last May is one of those. 
Seven people were killed in the crash, including Derrick Griffith, a Bronx native and beloved Brooklyn dean. 
The braking system could have also assisted in the Metro-North derailment that happened in December 2013 in the Bronx. The crash killed four passengers when officials say a conductor "nodded off" at the wheel. 
Reports claim freight and commuter rail lines say they would face a shutdown at the end of the year unless the mandate was granted, they estimate it would be a $30 billion blow to the economy.
 


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