Bill introduced in US Senate to extend positive train control deadline

Four US senators have introduced the bipartisan Railroad Safety and Positive Train Control Extension Act in an effort to extend the deadline for full implementation of positive train control (PTC) on US railroads to 2020. Missouri has 4,400 miles of main rail track that are operated by 19 different railway companies. PTC is a technology designed to automatically stop or slow a train before certain collisions. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 mandates that PTC must be installed by31 December 2015. PT
March 6, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
RSSFour US senators have introduced the bipartisan Railroad Safety and Positive Train Control Extension Act in an effort to extend the deadline for full implementation of positive train control (PTC) on US railroads to 2020.

Missouri has 4,400 miles of main rail track that are operated by 19 different railway companies.

PTC is a technology designed to automatically stop or slow a train before certain collisions. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 mandates that PTC must be installed by31  December 2015. PTC is mandated on tracks that carry passenger rail and certain hazardous materials, and will cover around 60,000 tracks in total nationwide.

The bill was introduced by Missouri Senator Roy Blunt and co-sponsored by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, Ranking Member Bill Nelson, and US Senator Claire McCaskill, who claim the delay would help ease the regulatory burden and costs for passenger and freight railroads

“We must work to do everything we can to improve train safety and accident prevention without burdening our nation’s freight and passenger rail industry," said Blunt. "Unmanageable deadlines could result in higher costs and a disruption of service. This bipartisan bill will help ease the Positive Train Control deadline to give railroads in Missouri and nationwide enough time to fully and safely implement this new technology.”

Related Content

  • Ability to keep in touch on US buses woos travellers
    February 1, 2012
    David Crawford finds evidence of a new trend in American intercity travel: that better access to data sources on the move is tempting passengers away from air travel and onto surface modes. In the US the ease of use of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) is successfully wooing long-distance travellers away from airlines and onto surface public transport, according to just-published research. Using data from field observations of 7,028 passengers travelling by bus, air and train in 14 US states and the Distri
    Read More
  • Freight poses growing problem for city authorities
    March 3, 2017
    Wes Guckert considers possible solutions and countermeasures to the problems of increased freight deliveries in growing cities. In January 2016, the US Department of Transportation (USDoT) conducted a session on the SmartCity Challenge and Urban Freight and Logistics. This session was a follow-up to the USDoT report titled, Beyond Traffic 2045.
    Read More
  • Parking companies join forces to offer comprehensive parking services
    December 23, 2015
    Mobile parking payments specialist PayByPhone has joined forces with parking location and reservations provider ParkJockey to deliver a comprehensive set of off-street and on-street parking services to parking authorities, parking operators and consumers. PayByPhone will integrate ParkJockey’s off street parking location and reservation services into its paybyphone mobile app. In turn, ParkJockey will integrate PayByPhone mobile payment services into the ParkJockey app. The partnership will initially focus
    Read More
  • Increased automation is already improving road safety
    April 20, 2017
    Richard Cuerden considers how many of the technologies developed as part of a move toward autonomous vehicles are already being deployed as ADAS improve road safety. The drive to create autonomous vehicles has caused a re-evaluation of what is needed to safely navigate today’s roads and the development of systems that can replace the driver in many scenarios. However, many manufacturers are not waiting for ‘tomorrow’ and are already incorporating these systems in their new cars as Advanced Driver Assistanc
    Read More

Highlighted Content