151 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

NJ.com, 10/8:

 

NJ Transit says rail service could cease in 3 months unless feds act

 

Commuter trains could grind to a halt in New Jersey if federal lawmakers don't extend a deadline for railroads to install a system to automatically slow and stop trains, transit officials say.

 

Without an extension of a Dec. 31 deadline to install Positive Train Control systems, which automatically stop a train that speeds or disobeys a signal, commuters could be stranded on the platform.

 

"Without a PTC extension, it is unclear whether NJ Transit will be able to operate passenger service as of January 1, 2016," said Nancy Snyder, an NJ Transit spokeswoman. "This is true both for NJT's own rail lines, and for NJT service over tracks of Amtrak or freight (railroads)."

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Progressive Railroading, 10/13:

 

Senators call for 'comprehensive' action on PTC process

 

A group of Democratic senators are calling on Senate leaders to take a "comprehensive approach" in considering an extension of the Dec. 31 federal deadline for railroads to implement positive train control (PTC) safety technology.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.), the seven Democrats called for a three-year extension of the PTC deadline, swift Senate confirmation of key nominees at the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), and federal investment in rail safety and infrastructure needs.

 

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[CNJRoss]

Minneapolis, MN Star-Tribune, 10/12:

 

Railroads warn of nationwide meltdown if extension not granted for safety requirements

 

Companies tell Congress they need more time to install mandated safety equipment. But many politicians are annoyed that the railroads have failed to meet a federal deadline first imposed eight years ago.

 

WASHINGTON – Railroads are warning Congress that if they don’t get more time to install new safety equipment on their rail lines by the end of October, there will be a nationwide freight and passenger meltdown at the end of the year that could affect everything from grain operations to farmers seeking fertilizer to Minnesota passengers trying to get to Chicago.

 

Dow Chemical, the American Chemistry Council and others are sounding alarms that they will be unable to ship products to vast sections of the United States — including Minnesota — if freight trains stop hauling their materials.

 

Many politicians are openly annoyed that the railroads have failed to meet a federal deadline first imposed eight years ago.

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

Metro Magazine, 10/5:

Time Running Out for Commuter Rail Positive Train Control Fix

 

There are currently 23 commuter railroads operating in the U.S. and only 29% of them are targeting to complete installation of positive train control technology (PTC) by the federally mandated deadline of Dec. 31, 2015, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). Full implementation of PTC for all commuter lines is projected by 2020.

 

PTC technology is designed to automatically stop or slow a train before accidents caused by human error occur, including train-to-train collisions, derailments caused by excessive speed and unauthorized incursions.

 

SNIP

 

Challenges
But positive stories about PTC are few and far between as many commuter rail systems struggle to overcome the numerous challenges posed by the expensive and complex undertaking.

 

Ongoing challenges commuter railways face include, availability of the wireless spectrum. APTA has asked Congress to direct the Federal Communications Commission to provide free radio spectrum for PTC.

 

“A number of transit agencies have been unsuccessful at completing negotiations with spectrum holders,” says Brian Tynan, APTA’s director, government relations.

 

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

The Hill, Washington, DC 10/16:

 

Agreement on automated train extension 'very close'

 

Lawmakers in the House and Senate are "very close" to reaching an agreement on extension of a federal deadline for automating trains on most of the nation’s railways, aides in the lower chamber say. 

 

Rail companies currently have until Dec. 31 to install an automated train navigation system known as Positive Train Control (PTC), which regulates the speed and track movements of trains.

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

The Bulletin, Bend, OR 10/17:

 

Editorial: Avoid a railroad shutdown

 

 

It sounded good back in 2008 when Congress approved the Rail Safety Improvement Act — require the nation’s railroads to install something called Positive Train Control by the end of 2015, and make the country a safer place in the process.

 

Problem is, no one — not the railroads, not the Government Accountability Office, not the Federal Railroad Administration — says the job can be completed by the end of this year. And unless the U.S. House of Representatives acts quickly to push the deadline back several years — the Senate already has done so — rail activity in the country is likely to slow dramatically or even stop.

 

SNIP

 

House Resolution 3651 would push the current deadline back to the end of 2018, as the Senate already has done. Though no vote has been scheduled, action on it seems likely. We hope so. A sidelined rail system is a Christmas present this country can do without

 

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[CNJRoss]

Politico, 10/18:

 

Hill moves toward delaying rail safety deadline

A host of powerful industries warns of 'utter chaos' if Congress doesn't offer a reprieve on a Dec. 31 mandate.

Last spring's deaths of eight passengers in an Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia called attention to a glaring hole in the nation's rail safety network: railroads' failure to install an advanced anti-collision technology that Congress had mandated in 2008.

But five months later, lawmakers are preparing to give railroads years past this December's deadline to put the systems in place — heeding the railroads' warnings that they would otherwise have to impose a nationwide freeze on rail traffic that could wreck the economy and threaten national security. More than 100 oil, gas, coal, farming, manufacturing, retail and other business groups are also urging lawmakers to postpone the mandate, as are the U.S. Conference of Mayors, local transit agencies, newspaper editorials, more than 150 House members and nearly half the Senate.

 

The railroads' reprieve could arrive in the multi-year highway and transit bill that the House Transportation Committee is due to take up this week, although a draft unveiled Friday contained no details. House lawmakers have spent weeks negotiating specific language with the Senate, which approved a three-year deadline extension over the summer.

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[CNJRoss]

Cross posted from "Freight Railroads" forum:

 

NS Service Alert:

 

Notice of Cessation of Service Effective December 1, 2015,

for All Shipments of Poisonous-Inhalation-Hazard (“PIH”) Commodities

• Notice of Cessation of Service Effective December 1, 2015, for All Shipments of Poisonous-Inhalation-Hazard (“PIH”) Commodities    (online alert includes list of affected commodities) 

October 20, 2015

 

Norfolk Southern Railway Company and its rail operating subsidiaries (“NSR”) will no longer accept shipments of Poisonous-Inhalation-Hazard (“PIH”) commodities, effective Dec. 1, 2015.  PIH commodities in transit on Dec. 1, 2015 will be delivered to destination by Dec. 31, 2015. Starting on December 1, 2015, NS will not pull PIH loads or residual cars from a facility on NS and will not accept such cars at interchange.   As to traffic requiring interchange with a connecting railroad, the effective date of this cessation of service shall be accelerated as necessary to comply with any earlier cessation of service date imposed by such connecting railroad.  Private car shippers required to have OT-5 authority, which includes storage plans, should make sure that their storage plans are updated.  PIH commodities are those defined in 49 CFR §§ 236.1003, 171.8, 173.115, and 173.132, and include the STCCs and commodities listed below. 

 

These service changes – effective across the entire NS rail network -- are required  to comply with federal safety laws that become effective after Dec. 31, 2015, the government’s deadline for installation of PTC.

 

Despite investment of nearly $1 billion to date, NS will not meet the deadline.

 

NSR is ceasing service related to PIH commodities to prevent it from violating federal safety laws that become effective after December 31, 2015.  The December 1, 2015 effective date is designed to allow for all such commodities tendered prior to December 1, 2015 to clear the NSR system before January 1, 2016.

 

In addition, NSR has notified in writing Amtrak, Virginia Railway Express and Metra that passenger trains will not be permitted to operate on NSR track after December 31, 2015.

 

Norfolk Southern sincerely regrets the inconvenience that customers, passengers, and commuters will experience and hopes that Congress will act quickly and decisively to allow us to restore full access to our rail network.

 

[CNJRoss]

Reuters 10/20:

 

U.S. lawmakers in deal on extending rail safety deadline -senator

 

Oct 20 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers from the House of Representatives and Senate have reached an agreement to extend a Dec. 31 deadline for railroads to implement new safety technology, a leading Republican senator said on Tuesday.

 

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said that talks between the two chambers have successfully bridged differences on a three-year extension of the deadline for railroads to implement positive train control, or PTC.

 

"Congress now needs to pass this plan in the coming weeks to avoid service disruptions that will impact shippers across the country and commuter railroad passengers," Thune said in a statement issued by the committee. "This PTC extension will keep the pressure on freight and passenger railroads to ensure safety benefits are realized as soon as possible."

 

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[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post "Dr. Gridlock" column, 10/19:

 

The trains won’t stop running, despite dire warnings about federal deadline for safety equipment

 

The railroad industry on Monday held a conference call with reporters to raise the possibility that commuter rail lines nationwide might shut down on Jan. 1 unless Congress steps in to extend a deadline for the installment of new safety equipment.

 

As representatives from three commuter lines — Virginia Railway Express, Chicago’s Metra system and California’s San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission — told it, a shutdown would send millions of commuters onto the highways, causing the ultimate gridlock. Edward Hamberger, president of the  Association of American Railroads, joined the call to say that if the freight railroads also shut down those additional cars on the highway would be joined by every truck that was able to roll.

 

It is more likely that Christmas will come in October. A discussion with leaders on Capitol Hill Friday made clear that Congress has every intention of doing what the railroad industry wants done, and doing it as expeditiously as possible.

 

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