Lipinski, Quigley urge fellow lawmakers to extend positive train control deadline

The railroads appear likely to get their wish.

NRF worked to include a strong focus on national freight policy in The Surface Transportation and Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 3763), as well as a provision that would avert a potentially catastrophic shut down of the American rail network by the end of year by giving railroads an additional three years to implement Positive Train Control (PTC) technology.

House leaders said they thought the proposed short-term funding bill could come up for a vote on the House floor as early as Tuesday, according to a report by The Hill. And Congress can’t let railroads do this again, especially at a time when a booming domestic oil industry is moving more volatile crude by rail.

The bill also extends the government’s authority to spend money on highway programs through November 20 in an effort to buy time for Congress to pass a long-term transportation bill. The current legislation is set to expire on Thursday. Under the bill, railroads would have until December 31, 2018, to install positive train control, and could seek a waiver for up to another two years if needed.

Positive Train Control is a safety system to monitor and control train movements that was enacted in 2008 by Congress. “There is no way the railroads can meet the January 1 deadline, meaning America’s railroads would soon grind to a halt”, Lipinski said.

Railroads say they’re anxious about fines and liability should they violate the deadline.

Failing to delay the deadline “will have devastating economic impacts”, said Rep. Bill Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and chief sponsor of the bill. There should have been financial consequences for those with no legitimate excuse to have missed a deadline they’ve known about for seven years. Four people were killed and dozens injured. It allows trains to stop automatically, which will prevent unsafe accidents from occurring.