MTA Officials Consider Elevated Tracks At LIRR Crossings

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is considering several measures to improve safety at Long Island Rail Road crossings, including elevating tracks.

The issue is receiving more attention after two LIRR trains struck vehicles this week.

"If they were elevated, that would be a better alternative," one rider told WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs. "Now you're not going to have any cars crossing through the crossings."

The option would cost an esimated $100 million for each crossing. That has some riders worried about rising fares.

"It's really a waste of money," said Richard, an LIRR customer. "People got to pay attention."

In both crashses this week, the vehicles' drivers are believed to have ignored the ringing bells and flashing warning lights.

On Tuesday, a 67-year-old man drove around the railroad gates just before his Ford Focus was struck by a train in Patchogue, authorities said. He was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. No one aboard the train was injured.

On Monday, a 63-year-old woman in East Rockaway drove onto the tracks despite warning lights, witnesses said. According to MTA police, the gates came down behind the vehicle while it was still on the tracks, and the train hit the rear of the SUV, pushing it off the tracks.

The driver survived the crash and was treated for neck and back injuries. No one on that train was injured either.

The two LIRR scares happened a month after a fiery crash between a Metro-North Railroad train and an SUV on the tracks left the vehicle's driver and five train passengers dead in Valhalla, Westchester County.

As CBS2's Weijia Jiang reported, U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., is trying to pass federal legislation to improve safety measures at crossings.

"We were able to act very quickly following the tragedy in Valhalla. And working across the aisle, we put language in the bill that is moving this week in Congress. I think we're going to get it through the House tomorrow," Maloney said Tuesday.

Last year, grade crossing accidents killed four people in the Tri-State Area, and injured many others – seven in New York state, 16 in New Jersey and 10 in Connecticut.

The Federal Railroad Administration has been trying to reduce those numbers with a new campaign, which includes working more closely with law enforcement to keep drivers off the tracks.