New York, NY —

A railroad industry group wants to develop the first national safety standards for dealing with dangerous train platform gaps. The American Public Transportation Association says that could accelerate change toward safer rail platforms.

The Federal Railroad Administration has also said it will study the idea of developing national standards. The issue of rail platform safety became the focus of much attention after an 18-year-old was killed in August at a Long Island Railroad station when she stepped off the train and fell between a gap.