Rail safety bill update
The House of Representatives just approved by voice vote a bill that would require positive train control systems for passenger trains to be installed by 2015. The bill now heads to the Senate. The bill also provides more than $12 billion in funding for Amtrak.
Here's the highlights on the legislation, as provided by the office of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), who obviously has a vested interest in it:
Lautenberg-Lott Amtrak
•Authorizes $12.9 billion over five years for passenger rail (over $2.5 billion annually for Amtrak and passenger rail programs, almost double what the U.S. is currently spending).
•Includes in the funding a new $1.9-billion state grant program for rail projects, with funding subject to ‘Buy America’ laws.
•Requires reforms at Amtrak, including a new board of directors, improved accounting, standards for service and on-time performance.
•Requires a collaborative plan for bringing the Northeast corridor up to a state of good repair by 2018, and authorizes funding (100% federal) for the initial stage.
•Authorizes fines for freight railroads when their trains delay Amtrak trains.
•Requires Amtrak stations to comply with disability accessibility standards and authorizes funding for such improvements.
Oberstar-Lautenberg Rail Safety
•Mandates positive train control (PTC) technology on rail main lines by 2015 (i.e., rail lines with passenger/commuter and certain trains carrying deadly hazardous materials).
•Authorizes $250 million in federal grants for PTC installation; expands a federal loan guarantee program for PTC and other rail infrastructure.
•Guarantees a maximum 12-hour work period and a minimum 10-hour disruption-free rest period for train crews and signal employees; caps total monthly work hours for train crews at 276, including some commuting time (allows for separate regime for commuter train crews).
•Requires federal study and regulation on the use of cellphones and other device distractions in locomotive cabs.
•Requires risk-based safety programs for all major railroads to prevent deaths and injuries.
•Creates a National Transportation Safety Board office to assist families of passengers following rail disasters.
Lautenberg Rail Solid Waste
•Allows states to clean up solid waste processing facilities on rail sites, which have avoided regulation through a loophole in federal law.
•Will apply state standards for air pollution, water pollution and fire safety to truck-to-rail transfer facilities handling and storing solid waste in open dumps.
Cardin-Warner Washington Metrorail
•Authorizes $1.5 billion over 10 years for rehabilitation of Washington's Metro rail transit system.
