Washington, DC – Members of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) provided a briefing today for House and Senate members of the National Capitol Region on the final investigation report on the June 22, 2009 Metrorail Red Line crash at the Fort Totten Station in the District of Columbia.
U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) issued the following statement in response to that briefing:
“I greatly appreciate the excellent work of Chairman Deborah Hersman and the members of the National Transportation Board for their investigation into the June 22, 2009 Metro crash on the Red Line near Fort Totten. The NTSB’s findings and recommendations must be acted to make Metro safer and to ensure that all public transit systems across the country meet the safety recommendations detailed in the NTSB’s final investigation report,”
said Senator Cardin.
“I will continue to support Metro as it seeks the needed financial resources to replace faulty signals, crumbling infrastructure and old unsafe rail cars, but it is evident from the NTSB’s findings that Metro would see vast safety improvements systemwide with the establishment of a real culture of safety, which primarily is about having the right people with the right priorities.
“The NTSB’s final report provides a pathway forward on improving public transit safety. Congress must now take action. I am committed, along with my regional colleagues in the House and Senate, to pass comprehensive transit reform to ensure that a tragedy like last year’s Red Line crash never happens anywhere in this country again.”
