“We have to act on commonsense safety measures to ensure we never repeat last week’s horrific accident," Maloney said in a statement. "Each year, there are thousands of collisions and hundreds of deaths at rail crossings, and our local and state governments should have the resources they need to upgrade safety devices as well as potentially relocate grade crossings in high density areas.”
Foxx responded by saying there is not enough money to help in even the highest danger areas and that the DOT would require additional funding and resources to address these needs.
In New York, there are currently 5,304 grade crossings, and from 2012-2014, there were 81 accidents, 15 deaths and 23 injuries at grade crossings according to the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety.
Last week, Maloney introduced the Rail Crossings Safety Improvement Act, to help improve safety at grade crossings, which would provide $100 million a year for the next four years.
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