Emergency workers walk past a derailed Metro-North train in New York in this still image from video taken by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) December 2, 2013.
Credit: Reuters
The Metropolitan Transportation Authorityannounced on Monday that it will be creating a new safety committee and appointing a chief safety officer for the accident-plagued Metro-North line.
The transit authority’s CEO, Thomas F. Prendergast, made reference to December’s deadly train derailmentand other recent service interruptions in a statement detailing the increased oversight.
“The events of the last year have made clear to everyone in the MTA how important it is to create a culture where all employees act to eliminate risks, and changing our executive structure will ensure safety remains a dedicated agency value,” Prendergast said.
The MTA also announced that the Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road have installed automatic speed controls at ten significant curves in the three months since the derailment, which killed four people and injured 67.
“The MTA has a long tradition of safe and reliable operations, which is why our customers and our employees are rightly upset with the failures we’ve seen in the last year,” Prendergast said.
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