Legislation approved by Congress on October 28 postponed a year-end deadline for railroads to install new anti-crash equipment and ensured that rail shipments of essential water treatment chemicals would continue uninterrupted as the end of the year approaches.
Approved by both chambers as part of a short-term transportation policy bill (H.R. 3819), the provision postpones a December 31 deadline for rail carriers to install “positive train control” (PTC) anti-crash technology on railroads that carry either passenger service or freight shipments of certain hazardous substances. President Obama signed the measure into law on October 29.
Congressional action was necessary because of a 2008 law that required certain railroads to implement PTC systems by December 31, 2015. PTC is a safety technology designed to prevent rail collisions and derailments, such as the May Amtrak crash in Philadelphia.
Under the 2008 law railroads that did not have PTC installed by the end of 2015 would face daily federal fines if passenger trains or chemical freight shipments traveled over their rails, but many railroads across the country reported that they were far behind schedule in implementing the technology and would not be able to meet the deadline. Facing the threat of federal fines, several railroads announced they would suspend passenger service and chemical shipments at the end of the year – including shipments of critical water treatment chemicals such as gaseous chlorine and anhydrous ammonia.
AMWA and other water utility organizations spent recent months warning Congress about the significant public health consequences that would result if rail shipments of chlorine and anhydrous ammonia were suspended, and urged lawmakers to quickly act on proposals to delay the PTC mandate. Other sectors and industries reliant on rail traffic weighed in as well, and the extension approved by Congress delays the PTC implementation deadline by three years, to December 31, 2018. Additionally, the new law allows federal regulators to further extend this deadline by an additional two years for individual railroads on a case-by-case basis.