NEW METRO-NORTH 100-DAY PLAN BASED ON SAFETY

Plagued by two derailment accidents in the past year that killed four people and injured 140 others, Metro-North Railroad has submitted a 100-day improvement plan with a focus on improving safety and performance.

New Metro-North president Joseph Giuletti submitted the plan to Connecticut Transportation Commissioner James Redeker in early March; nearly two-thirds of the Metro-North New Haven Line, which has been beset by service disruptions, runs in Connecticut.

Giuletti said that the plan outlines Metro-North’s three key priorities: to operate safely, communicate better with commuters and restore performance.  He said that his goals for the railroad included the re-establishment of a department to regulate and enforce safety policies, create a unit to analyze data for positive and negative trends, and to implement an employee safety training and testing program.

Giuletti said that Metro-North would hold at least six meeting with commuters over the next 100 days.

In December, 2013, a Metro-North crash near the Spuyten Duyvil station in the Bronx killed four people and injured more than 70 others.  Last May, a Metro-North train derailed near Bridgeport, CT; 10 days later, a railroad foreman died after he was hit by an oncoming train near the West Haven station.  In September 2013, service was stopped on the New Haven line for 12 days because of a failed feeder cable.