The Senate included an extension in broader transportation legislation that is stalled. Known as positive train control, the technology is installed on trains and rail infrastructure. “This is true both for NJT’s own rail lines, and for NJT service over tracks of Amtrak or freight (railroads)”.
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Senate legislation passed in July gave railroads up to three more years to install positive train control, and has pushed Congress to pass a law to extend the deadline. Boardman said without the extension, Amtrak service would be hit hard. A House bill introduced last month would also require installation by 2018 and would lay out provisions for two more extensions.
Investigators have said the technology could have prevented an Amtrak crash in May in Philadelphia that killed eight people when a train sped into a curve, exceeding the speed limit.
The Government Accountability Office told Congress in a September report that it should grant the Federal Railroad Administration the authority to extend past the December. 31 deadline, which it said would be unattainable due to high costs and technological glitches, among other factors.
“There must be interoperability between railroads and their individual PTC systems. Accordingly, it is critical that we focus our efforts on how best to ensure that those remaining railroads continue to work expeditiously towards implementation and are held accountable for continued progress toward that goal”, the senators wrote.
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Although service on tracks now controlled by Amtrak, including much of the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston would be unaffected by the deadline, Boardman warned in the letter that “potential impacts would be substantial”. Many freight railroads have said they may refuse to transport freight and may suspend passenger service on their track that is not PTC-compliant, Boardman’s letter stated. It said in a September 9 letter to Thune that it would stop shipments of chemicals including chlorine, used to purify water, and anhydrous ammonia, used in fertilizer, if the deadline stays put.
