Senate subcommittee hearing to examine Metro-North power outage

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) will chair a field hearing on Oct. 28 to examine a Consolidated Edison power outage at MTA Metro-North Railroad last month that knocked out service on the New Haven Line for two weeks.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation's subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security will meet for the hearing at the Bridgeport, Conn., city hall, according to a press release issued by Blumenthal's office.

The hearing will review the outage's causes, how to prevent future power failures, and the economic impact of such a major service disruption.

"Significant investment in our rail infrastructure is vital to stopping more severe service disruptions," Blumenthal said. "This hearing is an important first step in determining the cause of this latest failure, and in considering future measures and investments in our rail system."
 
Among those expected to testify at the hearing are Consolidated Edison President Craig Ivey, Metro-North President Howard Permut, Amtrak President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Boardman, John Hartwell of the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council and Otto Lynch from the American Society of Civil Engineers.