Warner, Kaine call for increased funding for Positive Train Control technology

U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined 21 of their Senate colleagues in urging Congress to increase funding for Positive Train Control (PTC). According to the National Transportation Safety Board, PTC technology could have prevented the derailment of Amtrak 188 in Philadelphia last week.

Currently the nation’s commuter rails need approximately $2 billion to fully implement Positive Train Control but Congress has only allocated $50 million to date.

In a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Senators wrote, “Safety on our nation’s railway system has been, and must continue to be, our top priority. Last week’s accident is a stark reminder that there have been far too many crashes and derailments, which could have been prevented had Positive Train Control been installed. As we continue to rely more and more on our passenger and freight rail networks, it is imperative that we install Positive Train Control nationwide as soon as possible.”

In addition to Sens. Warner and Kaine, the letter was also signed by:  Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Angus King (I-ME), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Gary Peters (D-MI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Tom Carper (D-DE), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

In December 2013, following the derailment of a Metro-North train in Bronx, New York that killed four and injured dozens, Sen. Warner and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) – then the Chairman and Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security – wrote to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), requesting that the organization survey its members to find out what steps commuter railroads nationwide had taken to install PTC technology and what barriers remain. In response to the senators, APTA reported that many publicly funded commuter railroads were forced to choose between setting up PTC technology and making other critical safety repairs, and requested that Congress appropriate additional federal funding to support the implementation of PTC.