Railroads Seek Reprieve to Install PTC Systems
Efforts are being made in Washington to address the Dec. 31 deadline for U.S. freight railroads to comply with a federal mandate to finish installing the crash-avoidance technology known as positive train control.
On Capitol Hill, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) sponsored HR 3651 to delay implementation until Dec. 31, 2018. The measure includes an additional delay that could be granted by the Department of Transportation.
The Surface Transportation Board was asked by trade groups representing chlorine, chemical and fertilizer shippers for an order requiring railroads to carry toxic-by-inhalation commodities that may be embargoed by the carriers next month.
And shipper groups also began a federal court action to compel continued handling of those chemicals. The furor over handling toxic-by-inhalation shipments affects trucking since railroads annually process about 13 million truck-rail loads, which share the tracks with TIH shipments and other traffic. The railroads have said that they won’t be able to meet the deadline set by a 2008 safety law meant to avert collisions. The law was sparked by a head-on wreck that killed 25 people in Los Angeles.
The Federal Railroad Administration has said railroads will be fined after Dec. 31 for failure to meet the deadline.
“Extending the deadline is essential to preventing significant disruptions of both passenger and freight rail service across the country,” Shuster said in a statement announcing the bipartisan bill that has 76 co-sponsors.
Neither Shuster’s bill nor a similar Senate measure has advanced beyond introduction. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Commerce Committee, also has said he would support an extension.
The American Chemistry Council, the Chlorine Institute and the Fertilizer Institute, whose members ship TIH chemicals used for water purification and other purposes, asked STB to order the railroads to keep moving TIH loads. Their filing noted that some railroads have said embargoes of TIH chemicals could begin around Thanksgiving to ensure trips are completed by Dec. 31.
Last month, the CEOs of the four largest U.S. railroads outlined in separate letters to Thune the con-sequences of not receiving an extension, using phrases such as “unattainable” and “enormous congestion.” Each carrier said it would have to shut down key operations to avoid violations and fines after Jan. 1 if an extension wasn’t passed. Such a shutdown could cover as much as 63,000 miles of track and affect passenger trains.
The Association of American Railroads has a countdown clock posted on its website to dramatize the issue. In its statements, the railroads have said they’ve spent nearly $6 million to comply with the mandate.
“Without congressional action, railroads will have little choice but to shut down or severely limit rail traffic,” AAR said.
“Train systems cannot be shut down or restarted overnight, so freight railroads, passenger rail providers and shippers are being forced to make decisions now to prepare for the severe disruptions in rail service that will occur if Congress does not act soon on a PTC extension,” the trade group said.
In the STB action, the trade groups argued that the 2008 law does not block the TIH shipments as long as they are made after Jan. 1 on tracks where the installation isn’t required.
