Congress gave the nation’s railroads three more years, and possibly up to five, to install a mandated safety system that would automatically slow trains running at unsafe speeds, and which safety experts say could have prevented May’s fatal Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) yesterday issued urgent recommendations to the Federal Transit Administration, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the American Public Transportation Association calling for improved ventilation procedures during smoke and fire events in tunnels.