Bob Filner: “we have had in this Nation in recent weeks several high-profile train accidents, one in Southern California and one in…”

“we have had in this Nation in recent weeks several high-profile train accidents, one in Southern California and one in Florida. In light of these accidents and in light of ongoing problems with railroad safety, I have asked the chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroad on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Quinn), and his ranking member, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement), to hold a hearing and consider new legislation on railroad safety. As my colleagues know, an Amtrak auto train crashed and derailed near Crescent City, Florida, last month. While the National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating, we have to wonder if the four deaths and over 100 injuries could have been prevented by the previous enactment by this body of real railroad safety legislation. In the Southern California crash, a Burlington Northern engineer and conductor missed a yellow light that should have signaled them to slow their freight train down. Instead, they barreled head on into a Metrolink commuter train, killing two people and injuring almost 200 more. We simply cannot tolerate any more of these preventable accidents.”