The acting head of the agency that regulates rail travel and freight in the United States says the Metro-North Railroad needs to improve safety and overall operational efforts on the country's busiest commuter rail line.
"In some places like Metro-North, it might be safety culture and really some basics on improving safety," Sarah Feinberg, the Acting Administrator for the Federal Railroad Administration said during an interview Monday.
Feinberg paid her third visit to Connecticut on Monday, which she said was the most out of any state she's visited during her six months on the job.
"I can't say that I've visited any of the other 49 states as often," she said during a roundtable with mayors and representatives from cities and towns that depend on rail.
The visit was meant to shine a light on improved safety efforts more than two years after the tragic death of Robert Luden, a Metro-North maintenance worker who was struck and killed in May 2013.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal invited Feinberg to Connecticut to discuss needed safety improvements all along the state's hundreds of miles of track.
"What’s needed is new equipment, new tracks, cars, but what’s needed is a drastic change in culture," Blumenthal said.
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Feinberg said the addition of Positive Train Control, a GPS- and Internet-based technology that can stop runaway trains, is also crucial to improving safety and minimizing accidents.
"Most accidents are caused by human factors," Feinberg said. "That means human error. Positive Train Control helps take human error off the table. It’s just a game changer in terms of safety. It’s just a huge priority for us."
Metro-North received a $1 billion loan from the federal government last April to install PTC along the entire line.
