Sen. Charles Schumer on Sunday blasted Metro-North in the wake of a Post report that revealed the mind-boggling decision by the commuter railroad to rehire an engineer who caused a 1987 crash that injured 27 riders.
“It’s pretty clear that if an employee has an unsafe record, they shouldn’t be at the helm of an engine that’s carrying hundreds of people,” Schumer (D-NY) said.
“It’s unacceptable to have an employee with a bad record.”
The Post exclusively reported that engineer Daniel O’Brien, 60, was fired after passing a stop sign and crashing his empty engine into a train packed with more than 500 evening commuters — but was rehired in 1999.
Last year, O’Brien passed another stop sign at Grand Central Terminal, but was slapped only with a 30-day unpaid suspension that took more than a year to be imposed.
“There ought to be regular reviews of the records of anyone operating a Metro-North train,” added Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).
Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said the agency is “always happy to work with elected officials on ideas to improve safety,” but called its current disciplinary process “well-established in coordination with our labor organizations.”
Meanwhile, the MTA said new safety measures ordered for Metro-North by the feds after last week’s derailment that killed four riders and injured more than 60 others in The Bronx are being implemented starting Monday. They’ll all be in place by Tuesday.
Signals will warn engineers of the impending curve near the Spuyten Duyvil station, where the tragedy occurred, and an emergency brake will be automatically applied if the speed is not lowered to the 30 mph limit.
Similar measures will be implemented at four other critical curves by March.
The MTA said conductors will stand alongside engineers at those curves.
