House and Senate negotiators reached a deal Tuesday on a major railroad safety reform bill that will require new technology to prevent crashes and limit hours engineers can work, the Associated Press reported.
The deal followed a collision between a commuter train and a freight train Sept. 12 that killed 25 people in Los Angeles, AP said.
Those fatalities, which reports linked to an engineer text messaging while operating, spurred lawmakers to reach consensus as Congress prepares to recess this week, AP said. Lawmakers hope to move the package through the Senate before then.
The deal includes a requirement for the installation by 2015 of technology that can engage the brakes if a train misses a signal or gets off track, which would be required on all rail lines that carry passengers and on freight lines that carry hazardous materials, AP reported.
The legislation would enact the first major updates to rail safety rules since passage of the Federal Railroad Safety Authorization Act of 1994, which expired in 1998 and the train oversight and safety agency, the Federal Railroad Administration, has been operating under the expired law since because Congress had not acted, AP reported.
The package also includes legislation authorizing billions for Amtrak, AP said.
