Rail safety bill moves forward

Following up my earlier post, here's the Associated Press story on the rail safety bill that is working its way through Congress:

By ERICA WERNER
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — A sweeping rail safety reform bill that includes billions of dollars for Amtrak cleared a key vote in the Senate Monday, as lawmakers invoked the Sept. 12 train collision in Los Angeles that killed 25 people.

Senators voted 69-17 to proceed to a final vote on the bill, which requires more rest for workers and technology that can stop a train in its tracks if it’s headed for collision.

The vote on final passage will happen Wednesday, said Majority Leader Harry Reid. The House passed the bill last week so the expected Senate approval would send the legislation to President Bush for his signature.

Safety technology mandated by the legislation would have prevented the disaster in Los Angeles, the Federal Railroad Administration has said.

“Too often it takes a catastrophe to get people around here to focus on severe gaps in our laws,” said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, who authored the measure. “We want to make sure that these things don’t happen again.”

The bill caps the hours per week rail crews can work, adds 200 new safety inspectors for the Federal Railroad Administration and requires the installation by 2015 of technology that can put the brakes on a train if it runs a red light or gets off track.

The collision in Los Angeles happened when a Metrolink commuter train failed to stop at a red light and ended up on the same track as an oncoming freight.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement Monday noting that the Federal Railroad Administration has been operating under an expired law for 10 years because Congress has failed to act.

“The 25 tragic deaths suffered earlier this month in Chatsworth, Calif., is proof that the time has come to act again,” Schwarzenegger said.

The bill also reauthorizes Amtrak for five years and gives the carrier $13 billion. There’s a new initiative to encourage private sector development of high-speed rail corridors, $2 billion in grants to states for rail projects and money for Washington, D.C.’s metro system.

Amtrak’s previous authorization expired in 2002. The carrier’s supporters say a new authorization will allow Amtrak to make long-range plans and take advantage of what they say is a growing appetite for passenger rail.