Senate committee rethinking options to extend positive-train-control (PTC) deadline in wake of Amtrak crash

Senate Commerce Committee members yesterday expressed concern about delays in the implementation of positive train control (PTC) technology, questioning whether extending the Dec. 31 deadline this year for implementation is the best path to improve railroad safety.

Earlier this year, committee members approved a bill that would extend the PTC implementation deadline until Dec. 31, 2020—with an option for two additional one-year extensions at that point—after learning that none of the Class 1 freight railroads will meet this year’s statutory deadline that is less than seven months away. But committee members expressed a desire for greater regulatory scrutiny after last month’s tragic derailment of Amtrak Train 188 in Philadelphia, which resulted in eight deaths and more than 200 injuries.

While the investigation surrounding the accident is ongoing, officials have noted that the train was traveling more than twice as fast as the 50 miles per hour recommended for the curved area of track being covered at the time of the accident. A PTC system is designed to ensure that trains travel at appropriate speeds and avoid collisions with other trains.

In the wake of the Amtrak accident, rail passengers should be “absolutely dumbfounded and outraged by this discussion” of a lengthy delay of PTC implementation, according to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

“Congress should—and will be—blamed, if we postpone the deadline for five or seven years, as the proposal is to do,” Blumenthal said during yesterday’s committee hearing, which was webcast.

“We’re a nation that put a man on the moon. We’re operating a vehicle remotely on Mars. But our railroads have not yet implemented a technology that is existing, feasible, practical and affordable. The kind of tragedy in Philadelphia is not only preventable but predictable in every one of our states.”

But all of the Class 1 freight railroads will miss this year’s Dec. 31 deadline to implement PTC, as will an estimated 71% of commuter railroads, according to Robert Lauby, the chief safety officer for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

With this in mind, “the question in Congress has not been whether to extend the deadline but rather how to extend the deadline,” according to Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Thune outlined three bills being considered:

• S. 650, the bill approved by the committee earlier this year;
• S. 1006, which would extend the PTC deadline to 2018 on a case-by-case basis, in one-year increments; and
• An administration probably that would give the U.S. secretary of transportation the discretion to grant extension on a case-by-case basis, with no specific end date. The measure also would allow rail track to be exempt from the PTC mandate, if the railroad implements an alternative strategy that meets certain criteria.

Not taking action to provide some sort of PTC extension to railroads could have negative impacts on the nation’s economy, Thune said.

"Otherwise, there could be some potentially significant effects when each railroad that cannot meet the deadline must decide whether to stop service or operate in violation of law, subject to penalties and unknown liability risk, “ he said. “After Dec. 31, each railroad must evaluate the legality of allowing passenger operations over their tracks, and the legality of shipping toxic-by-inhalation materials that are nevertheless critical to so many parts of our economy—from ammonia for our fertilizer to chlorine for our water. Alternative modes of transportation may not be as efficient or as safe.”

But Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), the committee’s ranking member, said the “American people are not going to put with waiting for five years” for railroads to implement PTC and asked Lauby for his recommendation.