The Metro-North Railroad chose a contractor Monday that will conduct sleep apnea screenings for train engineers.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will vote Wednesday on a $200,000 contract with Mount Laurel, N.J.-based Persante Health Care Inc. The contract will run for seven months, part of a pilot program.
According to an announcement from the Metro-North, all 410 of its engineers as well as engineers in training will undergo an in-house screening. Those recommended for additional screenings will be referred to Persante, which will then provide training and at-home test kits. Engineers may be referred to a sleep specialist based on the results.
The pilot program comes a year after a Hudson Line train en route to Grand Central Terminal from Poughkeepsie jumped the tracks near the Spuyten Duyvil station in the Bronx, killing four and injuring dozens more. The train”™s engineer, William Rockefeller, told investigators he had dozed off at the controls and did not apply the brakes before a sharp curve. He was later found to have sleep apnea.
