Senator Charles Schumer says he and his colleagues have introduced legislation aimed at forcing railroads to speed up safety upgrades.
The legislation would require railroads to install a new communications and signaling system called positive train control by 2018.
The system is meant to help trains slow down in the event of an emergency.
Schumer and colleagues such as Kirsten Gillibrand and Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal say the delay is "unacceptable" and that more crashes could have been prevented if it had been installed sooner.
In 2008, Congress had set a deadline for the upgrades for this year.
Schumer says the legislation would make railroads more "transparent" about their efforts and make sure they give regular status updates.