UPDATED: Positive Train Control railroad "shutdown clock" underway: major Texas impact
October 2nd, 2015
Safety rule threatens North Texas commuter, freight train service
Brandon Formby -Dallas Morning News Transportation Writer - October 13, 2015
Thousands of North Texas commuters who take the TRE or Denton County’s A-train could find themselves on buses or looking for other ways to get to work next year if Congress doesn’t extend a deadline for new safety technology.
Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20151012-commuter-freight-train-service-threatened-by-safety-rule.ece
Updated October 10, 2015 http://gorail.force.com/action/gorailtakeaction?actionid=AR0000017
(The Hill) - The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has launched a countdown clock to a "rail shutdown" if Congress does not extend a deadline for automating most of the nation's trains. https://www.aar.org/
Railroads currently have until Dec. 31 to install an automated navigation system known as Positive Train Control, which regulates the speed and track movements of trains. But several rail companies have warned they will shut down service in January 2016 to avoid fines if the deadline is not moved.
(TRA) - Congress is in recess until October 19 and the countdown clock continues with no clear bill yet in sight. Texas would be especially hard hit with BNSF Railway, Union Pacific and Kansas City Southern unable to transport hazardous cargo, especially from the large refinery areas around Houston and Beaumont-Port Arthur. Chemicals that are used in agriculture to produce fertilizers would also be banned from rail lines that are not PTC ready. That could affect spring plantings across Texas and the country. Railroads routinely haul cars with liquids that are classified as hazardous cargo that would have been shifted to more trucks on highways. Passenger rail services would also be forced to close down including Amtrak Texas services and commuter rail lines. Texas Rail Advocates President Peter LeCody spelled out the looming crisis in a Texas Tribune TribTalk column.
(the Hill) - "Railroads have warned for years that the December 31 deadline for implementing positive train control (PTC) was impossible to meet," AAR said in a post on its website.
"Railroads have spent nearly $6 billion and hired thousands of workers to install this state-of-the-art technology, but without congressional action, railroads will have little choice but to shut down or severely limit rail traffic," the post continued. "Disruptions would negatively impact the U.S. economy and affect everyone, including farmers, manufacturers, consumers, water treatment facilities, rail passengers, energy companies, government agencies and beyond!"
The mandate was set in the aftermath of a 2008 commuter rail crash in California, but railroads say they need more time to complete the implementation.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/255707-railroads-launch-automated-train-shutdown-clock
Related AAR column: http://www.politico.com/sponsor-content/2015/09/more-time-needed-to-develop-high-tech-safety-systems-for-railroads
Brandon Formby -Dallas Morning News Transportation Writer - October 13, 2015
Thousands of North Texas commuters who take the TRE or Denton County’s A-train could find themselves on buses or looking for other ways to get to work next year if Congress doesn’t extend a deadline for new safety technology.
Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20151012-commuter-freight-train-service-threatened-by-safety-rule.ece
Updated October 10, 2015 http://gorail.force.com/action/gorailtakeaction?actionid=AR0000017
(The Hill) - The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has launched a countdown clock to a "rail shutdown" if Congress does not extend a deadline for automating most of the nation's trains. https://www.aar.org/
Railroads currently have until Dec. 31 to install an automated navigation system known as Positive Train Control, which regulates the speed and track movements of trains. But several rail companies have warned they will shut down service in January 2016 to avoid fines if the deadline is not moved.
(TRA) - Congress is in recess until October 19 and the countdown clock continues with no clear bill yet in sight. Texas would be especially hard hit with BNSF Railway, Union Pacific and Kansas City Southern unable to transport hazardous cargo, especially from the large refinery areas around Houston and Beaumont-Port Arthur. Chemicals that are used in agriculture to produce fertilizers would also be banned from rail lines that are not PTC ready. That could affect spring plantings across Texas and the country. Railroads routinely haul cars with liquids that are classified as hazardous cargo that would have been shifted to more trucks on highways. Passenger rail services would also be forced to close down including Amtrak Texas services and commuter rail lines. Texas Rail Advocates President Peter LeCody spelled out the looming crisis in a Texas Tribune TribTalk column.
(the Hill) - "Railroads have warned for years that the December 31 deadline for implementing positive train control (PTC) was impossible to meet," AAR said in a post on its website.
"Railroads have spent nearly $6 billion and hired thousands of workers to install this state-of-the-art technology, but without congressional action, railroads will have little choice but to shut down or severely limit rail traffic," the post continued. "Disruptions would negatively impact the U.S. economy and affect everyone, including farmers, manufacturers, consumers, water treatment facilities, rail passengers, energy companies, government agencies and beyond!"
The mandate was set in the aftermath of a 2008 commuter rail crash in California, but railroads say they need more time to complete the implementation.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/255707-railroads-launch-automated-train-shutdown-clock
Related AAR column: http://www.politico.com/sponsor-content/2015/09/more-time-needed-to-develop-high-tech-safety-systems-for-railroads