Heat Incident Prompts Meeting Between Metro-North, Westport Emergency Responders
WESTPORT, CT (AP / WCBS 880) - Metro-North officials have agreed to meet with emergency responders from Westport to address concerns that passengers were stuck on a train last week in triple-digit heat.
Three trains became stalled in Connecticut on Friday and many more were delayed because problems with the overhead lines expanding in the heat.
Westport authorities say they received numerous 911 calls from people who were stuck on the trains near the Green's Farms station without water or air conditioning.
Emergency responders said they were delayed in reaching riders because Metro-North dispatchers initially indicated that one of the trains was not carrying passengers.
Railroad officials are expected to meet this week with the emergency responders to determine what can be done to improve communication.
WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau On A Call For An Investigation
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Meanwhile, Jim Cameron, head of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council, is calling for an investigation into the lack of train info in dangerous conditions in the cars.
"With no windows open, no air moving, it got hotter and hotter. It was easily 110 degrees," Cameron told WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau.
Metro-North Railroad says, with the intercom system down, conductors had no info to share.
Cameron says the information could have relayed by cell phone.
On Monday, Metro-North spokesperson Margie Anders pointed out that passengers were stranded for less than an hour.
(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
