Sen. Chuck Schumer was at the Manitou Train Station in Putnam County to announce a plan to improve rail safety for commuters and drivers.

The plan comes after incidents like the 2013 trail derailing in Spuyten Duyvil. Putnam County Legislator Nancy Montgomery's husband was among the four killed in the accident.

“Safety is my foremost responsibility for these people to make sure that they can get to work safely, and that they can come home. Unfortunately, my husband didn't get that opportunity to come home,” she said.

During the announcement, Sen. Schumer said he secured funding to improve railroad grade crossings in Putnam, Duchess and Westchester counties.

“The funding will upgrade the warning system, boost accessibility, help Metro-North implement other safety on Hudson and Harlem lines,” he said.

Eliminating dangerous crossings is something MTA board member Neal Zuckerman believes the area needs.

“The one in Westchester in Peekskill actually has a 1.6 chance out of 1,000 of an accident, FRA grades them all," he said.

Schumer has also called for massive infrastructure upgrades. Through the bipartisan infrastructure bill, he says there is money in the federal budget for rail safety funding programs such as positive train control.

"We all know what PTC is by now, it's a signaling system that just causes a train when they're approaching a car on the tracks to just stop,” he said.

Montgomery hopes these efforts will save lives.

"This is the lifeline to our wellbeing. We need it. We need it to work for us,” she said.