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Blumenthal Calls For Renewed Rail Safety After Deadly Amtrak Derailment

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. — After two people were killed and dozens injured Sunday when an Amtrak train derailed in Pennsylvania, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal made a renewed call to repair the nation's aging rails and for a swift investigation into the cause of the crash.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal

Photo Credit: Meredith Guinness, File

Blumenthal (D-Conn.) today released the following statement after this morning’s Amtrak crash in Pennsylvania.

The “tragedy further demonstrates the urgent need to rebuild our crumbling rail infrastructure and ensure safe operations nationwide," Blumenthal said in a statement. 

"‎My thoughts go out to the victims and their families after yet another tragic Amtrak accident, this one less than a year removed from the Philadelphia disaster and just weeks after a derailment in Kansas. 

"We need answers immediately – and I am pleased the National Transportation Safety Board has already launched an investigation to find all the facts." 

Blumenthal also expressed concerned after the rails were shut down for many hours between New York and Washington after the Amtrak train hit a backhoe on the tracks south of Philadelphia on Sunday morning.

"Whether due to basic human error or insufficient safety protocols, a massive section of the Northeast Corridor is again shut down, disrupting our economy and upending lives,” he said. 

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