Bridgeport, CT — Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) joined Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch at the Bridgeport train station this afternoon following the release of the National Transportation Safety Board reports detailing five accidents that occurred on Metro-North between May, 2013, and March, 2014. One of the reports focused on the train derailment and consequent collision that occurred nearby between the Bridgeport and Fairfield stations on May, 17, 2013, injuring at least 72 people and halting rail traffic for days.
Himes released this statement regarding the report:
“Today's report is yet another reminder that we must seriously and urgently address Metro-North's safety and reliability. As one of the busiest commuter train lines in the country, this is critical to ensuring people's safety and the strength of our region’s economy. The NTSB report highlights the culture of lax enforcement at Metro-North that led to delays in needed repairs and incomplete track inspections, and allowed a series of commonsense safety recommendations to go unheeded. I will push for the NTSB recommendations to be put in place as quickly and as efficiently as possible, where that has not already been done, and will continue to urge Congress to pass the Rail Safety Enforcement Act. I introduced this legislation with some of my Connecticut and New York colleagues earlier this year to increase safety and accountability standards in our nation’s train systems to help prevent such accidents. We can’t afford to have any more catastrophes like the collision here in Bridgeport last May.”