One Week After Metro-North Derailment, Senators Demand Cameras Be Required on Trains

Senators Chuck Schumer and Richard Blumenthal are calling for safety cameras on trains they say could help prevent accidents like last week's fatal Metro-North derailment.

They demanded the Federal Railroad Administration require all trains to have inward and outward facing cameras at a press conference today in Grand Central Terminal.  

The Senators say the National Transportation Safety Board recommended such requirements over five years ago, after a collision in California resulted in 25 deaths.  But no action was taken.  Senator Schumer says the inward facing cameras could help spot dangerous behavior, like crew members falling asleep or texting. 

"They detect these patterns before they become deadly, because usually these things don't happen once.  And time after time when they occur, thank God there's no accident; and then an accident occurs."

Schumer recalled his visit to the Spuyten Duyvil station the day of the crash as he urged the MTA to reform their monitoring system. 

"It's truly frightening to see that curve and how steep it is, and to think that a train went around it at 82 mph.  And that has to be stopped."

The Senators say they want to see these changes implemented on the Metro-North and railroads across the country immediately.  MTA could not be reached for comment.