Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson has gone back to the airline industry in a bid to improve the rail operator’s spotty safety record.
Anderson has hired Ken Hylander as Amtrak’s new safety chief.
Like Anderson previously, Hylander worked art Delta Air Lines and heads the Flight Safety Foundation, an industry group involved in raising safety standards in commercial aviation.
Hylander will report directly to Anderson.
"We are improving safety at Amtrak. Keeping our customers and employees safe is our most important responsibility and a high-quality safety management system is a requirement for Amtrak," said Anderson.
"Ken is a recognized leader in the implementation and operation of SMS, and his experience will be instrumental in helping build our safety culture."
A comprehensive safety management system was one of the recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board to improve the organization’s safety culture following two major crashes in recent years.
It includes a fatal derailment last month killing three people near DuPont, Washington.
