The top member of the General Assembly's Transportation Committee said in the wake of Tuesday's deadly Amtrak derailment that Connecticut has to invest in ways to prevent such tragedies from happening.
"These are the things that we need to get into place as soon as possible, and obviously with this accident that just occurred, it shows you that safety is of the utmost importance, no matter what we talk about – whether it’s trains, airplanes, cars – no matter what it is, and we need to get those procedures and safety mechanisms in place as soon as possible," said Rep. Tony Guerrera, a Democrat from Rocky Hill.
Guerrera has helped to usher the governor's 30-year $100 billion infrastructure and transportation improvement package through the legislature. He says any projects can't happen without new revenue.
"That is why need to get some kind of revenue coming back into the state whether it’s tolling, congestion pricing, whatever it is," Guerrera said.
According to Gov. Dannel Malloy's administration, the state has invested $142 million in positive train control technology for Metro-North's New Haven Line.
The technology is a combination of Internet and satellite connections with the ability to track a train as it moves and slow it down if the processors determine it's traveling too fast.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said that, had positive train control been installed along the route and on the train that crashed, the accident could have been prevented.
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Guerrera said the technology is a vital part of the state's transportation improvements.
"What I don’t understand is with all of the technology that’s out there, why we don’t implement procedures to make sure that there’s always going to be human errors at times but there are mechanisms that can prevent that," Guerrera said.
George Cahill is an attorney and railroad expert.
"The infrastructure’s very old, it needs to be inspected more often, more money needs to be put into the track and the road bed and the bridges. We’re neglecting that," he said of Connecticut's aging system.
Malloy said the Amtrak crash shouldn't deter train riders nor should it slow the investment being pursued in rail in Connecticut.
"Overall it’s a very safe way to travel, but having said that, we need to do everything in our power to make it as safe as possible and here in Connecticut that’s what we’re doing with our proposal."
The Connecticut Department of Transportation declined to answer any media inquiries regarding the Amtrak crash or rail infrastructure in Connecticut.
