44°
Blumenthal visited Sperry Rail Service in Danbury to highlight new increases in funding for rail safety technology that will support the critical work of companies such as Sperry.
"Sperry is at the forefront of worldwide efforts to make trains safer by detecting defects in the tracks and enabling prompt work to correct them," he said later Wednesday.
Blumenthal toured the facility and held a town hall meeting with employees.
Sperry Rail Service, founded in 1928, produces the first nondestructive method of detecting flaws in rail. Its rail flaw detection technology reduces potentially catastrophic derailments on railroads through improved inspection practices, which could have helped to prevent the Bridgeport derailment in 2013.
Last month, Congress passed the FAST Act, a long-term surface transportation bill that provides funding certainty and increases investments in infrastructure—growing jobs and improving safety. The funding includes $3.5 billion for Connecticut’s roads and rails, along with safety reforms and new initiatives to rebuild aging rail throughout New England and the Northeast region.
It's not only rail safety but it's also the economic benefits that the growing company offers to Danbury and the state, Blumenthal said.
"It as much as about, again, new jobs and economic growth as it is about safety," he said. "This company has been adding jobs as it develops new technology. They have grown by 10 per cent over the last three years in their employment levels. They will be adding jobs in the future as a rest of the additional financial support in the FAST Act."
“By passing a long-term transportation bill, Congress has taken a major step toward strengthening rail safety and growing jobs as well as boosting investment in roads and rail," Blumenthal said in a press release.
Blumenthal is a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Danbury and receive free news updates.
