Senators are joining forces to ensure that a recurrence of a recent deadly train crash will not happen.
It was two weeks ago when a Metro-North trainstruck a S.U.V. that rolled onto the tracks, killing Ellen Brody, 49, and five passengers aboard the train at a Valhalla, New York train crossing.
As the incident continues to be investigated by the National Safety Board, Senators Charles Schumer of New York and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut are asking for more federal funding to ensure the safety of drivers and train passengers. According to the New York Times, the two senators announced their plan to present a bill, which will request $50 million dollars a year to a federal program for gates, lights and other safety improvements to rail crossings and $100 million a year for state grants and for a federal program that helps pay to relocate more dangerous crossings.
In the Hudson Valley, it is not uncommon to find train crossings where there are no lights or signals and drivers will find their best judgment the only safety in crossing the tracks when a train is nearby.
In the case of Brody, who is said to have driven her vehicle forward onto the tracks after being unable to get the safety bar to move, Senator Blumenthal shed a bit of light on a situation most drivers are likely unaware of.
"If Ellen Brody moved backward instead of forward, the gate would have released automatically. The gates are designed to release automatically,” Blumenthal said, according to News 12 Westchester.
Part of the $50 million dollars received from the bill the Senators propose would go to safety lessons or an awareness campaign.