Metro Safety Standards

Officials are set to discuss the elements of the first-ever federal safety standards for rail transit systems.
 
President Barack Obama signed a law earlier this month that calls for the establishment of such standards. The bill was introduced by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) in the wake of a Metrorail crash in Washington in 2009 that killed nine people and injured dozens more.
 
On Monday afternoon, Mikulski and transportation leaders will talk about some of those standards, which are being developed by the Transportation Department. The department is required to consider recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board.
 
Those recommendations are expected to include minimum crashworthiness standards, improved evacuation and rescue features and a requirement that Metro trains carry data recorders.