[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 53 (Tuesday, April 14, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2164-S2165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL AND RAILROAD SAFETY

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I wish to state my opposition to S. 
650 in its current form. This legislation would extend the deadline for 
installation of Positive Train Control, PTC, by 5 years. I cannot agree 
with allowing such an extension without addressing so many other 
critical rail safety matters.
  As Joe Boardman, the head of Amtrak and former FRA Administrator has 
said, ``PTC is the most important rail safety advancement of our 
time.'' The need for this technology was first brought to our attention 
over 45 years ago, sparked by a head-on train collision in Darien, CT 
in 1969. There have been many other horrible crashes since, and within 
the past decade alone, the National Transportation Safety Board has 
completed more than two dozen train accident investigations that took 
65 lives and injured over 1,100 people--all of this, according to the 
NTSB, could have been prevented by PTC.
  One of those horrific crashes occurred in 2008 in Southern 
California, and 25 lives were lost. PTC could have saved those lives. 
Accordingly, soon after that tragedy, Congress took real, thoughtful, 
substantive action and gave railroads more than 7 years to implement 
the life-saving technology of PTC. Since then, there have been other 
major accidents, such as the horrific crash of a Metro-North train in 
the Bronx in 2013 in which four lives were lost. Metro-North did not 
have PTC, and the NTSB has said the technology could have prevented 
those four deaths. Now, as we near the end of the 7 years, S. 650 gives 
railroads an extension of 5 more years--and then an option for 2 more 
after that. So, again, we must wait and risk continued loss of life as 
we further put off proven, life-saving technology.
  There may be issues with the deadline, and we should have a 
discussion about those issues. We should also have a discussion about 
the many other issues with PTC. These include the need for resources 
for commuter railroads, the need for greater transparency for all 
railroads and the need for dedicated spectrum to ensure commuter 
railroads have bandwidth to operate PTC. S. 650 doesn't address these 
other issues. Rather, the bill just focuses on the deadline. I want to 
make sure the bill solves all the other problems.
  In the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, I filed 
amendments that actually address these other outstanding issues. I want 
to make sure funding is available for cash-strapped passenger railroads 
and commuter lines. I want to bolster transparency and make sure we 
know where railroads truly are in the implementation process. I want to 
make sure commuter railroads have the frequency they need to build out 
PTC, and I do not want any bill to move to the floor that ignores these 
needs and shortchanges our commuter railroads.
  Another issue I hold with S. 650 is the bill's lack of attention to 
other serious safety concerns that should be addressed hand-in-hand 
with the shortcomings PTC works to resolve. Over the past few years, we 
have witnessed an onslaught of other rail safety issues spurred by far 
too many preventable accidents. Many of these accidents have happened 
on Metro-North, the commuter railroad serving Connecticut, the State I 
proudly represent. From mid-2013 into early 2014, we witnessed five 
major incidents on our commuter railroad. Then, again in February 2015, 
we witnessed another horrific incident in which six lives were

[[Page S2165]]

lost. These accidents have raised a host of other needs: cameras on 
trains, sufficient crew size, improved rail inspections, close-call 
reporting systems, redundant signal protection, alerters on rail cabs, 
speed restrictions, better Federal oversight, and safer highway-rail 
grade crossings.
  In the committee, I filed amendments that also advance these reforms. 
Those reforms must be a part of any real rail safety discussion. If we 
are even to consider a PTC deadline extension, it is imperative we take 
up other well-known measures that can improve safety while we work 
toward full PTC implementation. I appreciate the commitment from the 
chairman and ranking member of the Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation Committee to work with me to advance these reforms. I 
also appreciate the committee including a modified version of one of my 
amendments in the bill that passed out of the committee. Although I 
withdrew my other amendments in the committee, I look forward to 
working with all of my colleagues to improve this bill further. I am 
confident that together we can achieve important reforms and truly 
advance safety for all who depend on rail.

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