House Dems introduce train safety bill after deadly Amtrak crash

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

House Democrats on Thursday introduced legislation meant to accelerate the implementation of a key train safety feature, a move that follows December’s deadly Amtrak derailment in Washington state.

The bill, titled the Positive Train Control Implementation and Financing Act, would give railroads until the end of the year to enact Positive Train Control (PTC), which automatically decreases the speed of a train traveling over the limit. It would also prevent the Department of Transportation from allotting extensions to railroads seeking to delay meeting the implementation deadline.

“No more delays, no more extensions, no more excuses from railroads who have had ten years to implement PTC technology,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), the ranking Democratic member of the House Transportation Committee.

"Since Congress first passed legislation to mandate PTC implementation in 2008, some railroads have been diligent in implementing PTC while others have clearly been dragging their feet,” DeFazio said.

Every member of the Washington State Democratic delegation co-sponsored the legislation, a reaction to last month’s crash south of Seattle that left three dead when a speeding train derailed as it traveled across an overpass. The National Transportation Safety Board found in a preliminary report released last week that PTC would have slowed down the train, which had been traveling 78 mph in a 30 mph zone.

The legislation would provide $2.5 billion worth of grants so commuter railroads and intercity railways are able to execute PTC.

http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/railroads/368530-house-dems-introduce-train-safety-bill-after-deadly

[SoCalMusicLover]

1. Not Going Anywhere

There's no way the repubs will go along with a bill designed to make anything safer.

[procon]

2. Seems this this is a repeated effort.

It's just like gun control legislation following a mass killing spree, Republicans got their game on with all this safety shit.

Trains and tracks aren't modernized. People are killed. The moneyed interests that profit from trains don't want to pay for upgrades let alone the modern trains that speed across asian nations and Europe, will run crying crocodile tears to Republicans. Those defenders of business profiteers will pocket a little cash and step up to bravely kill the bill because its bad for the economy, to hell with the safety of people. So the whole safety thing will die... again and it will be business as usual until the next train disaster.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.