WASHINGTON
A sweeping rail-safety reform bill that envisions billions of dollars for Amtrak easily cleared the Senate yesterday, its passage propelled by a train collision in Los Angeles that killed 25 people on Sept. 12.
The bill, which passed 74-24, now goes to President Bush. It requires more rest for workers and technology that can stop a train if it is headed for collision.
Such technology would have prevented the accident in Los Angeles, the Federal Railroad Administration has said.
The bill caps the hours a week that rail crews can work, and bars shifts longer than 12 hours. It adds 200 safety inspectors for the Federal Railroad Administration and requires the installation by 2015 of technology that can put the brakes on a train if it runs a red light or gets off track.
The bill also calls for Amtrak to get $13 billion over five years in subsidies, although Congress will have to separately approve the money year after year.
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