Congress looks to extend deadline for train safety technology

Positive Train Control technology regulates train speeds, which could prevent accidents resulting from trains speeding up around corners.

But railroads have been unable to meet the deadline to install the technology and say they need up to five years to put the PTC program in place, lawmakers said Wednesday.

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., warned of a “transportation calamity” if the deadline is not extended because both commuter and freight rail transportation would be interrupted if PTC is not put in place under the current deadline.

“Not one railroad told us, after several years of work and three months to go, that they have been certified by the Federal Railroad Administration, that they are compliant,” he said.

Rail safety experts pushed for faster installation of PTC following the May 12 Amtrak train derailment that killed eight people.

But rail companies say installing PTC has been hampered by the need to acquire bandwidth needed for the wireless system to work, among other problems. The installation was also slowed by the Federal Communications Commission, which blocked implementation of PTC so that it could review whether antennae locations would damage historic preservation efforts or trespass on tribal lands in some areas.

Republicans in both chambers have introduced the legislation extending the deadline.

The language includes a provision providing “limited authority for the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary to extend the deadline beyond 2018 if railroads demonstrate they are facing continued difficulties in completing the mandate.”

“Completion of the Positive Train Control mandate by the end of the year is not achievable, and extending the deadline is essential to preventing significant disruptions of both passenger and freight rail service across the country,” said House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa.