Getting Positive Train Control on Track

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) spoke on the House floor urging Congress to assist our commuter railroads in implementing positive train control in order to prevent the kind of tragedies we saw on Amtrak last week.

Below is a video and transcript of the speech.

Mr. Speaker, Mark Twain once said that "Action speaks louder than words, but not nearly as often."

Since last week's tragic Amtrak accident, we've heard plenty of words about the need for stronger rail safety measures and investments in our infrastructure.

But it's high time for Congress to back up those words with action. It's time for Congress to put its money where its mouth is.

We know how to prevent tragic accidents like the one that happened on Amtrak last week.

Congress has even mandated new technology called positive train control that would have prevented it.

But what Congress has refused to do is pay to actually get it done.

Positive train control is a game changer for rail safety.

The technology would have likely prevented 140 train accidents that have caused more than 280 deaths and $300 million in property damage since 1969.

But this safety technology is also incredibly complex and expensive to implement.

We've mandated a technology that's expected to cost billions, and we're forcing the nation's railroads to foot the bill!

Much of this last week's focus has been on Amtrak, but despite last week's accident, Amtrak is actually on target to implement positive train control by the end of the year.

For the already cash-strapped commuter railroads around the country, it's a completely different story. For them, Congress's refusal to fund positive train control has pretty much stopped implementation in its tracks.

Expected to cost commuter railroads nearly $3.5 billion dollars, it's no wonder that over 70 percent of commuter railroads won't achieve PTC implementation before this year's deadline.

Our commuter railroads are integral to the daily commute of millions of Americans. In fact, Amtrak's annual ridership pales in comparison to our nation's commuter railroads.

While Amtrak carried 30 million riders last year, commuter railroads carried close to 500 million.

In the Chicago area alone, Metra's ridership last year was over 80 million.

With numbers like that, how can Congress justify mandating a policy that they know commuter railroads simply cannot afford while providing very little funding to help them do it.

This unfunded mandate is forcing commuter rails to sacrifice other investments that are crucial to railroad safety and efficiency.

50 percent of commuter railroads are currently deferring other capital investments to implement PTC.

And what happens when the commuters aren't able to implement this technology before the end of this year?

They get penalized. Fined. Instead of giving money to the commuters to pay for PTC, the federal government is actually going to end up collecting money from them for not being able to afford to do so.

For good reason, Congress mandated an incredibly important and incredibly expensive new safety technology.

But it's amounted a lot of words and very little action.

The same 2008 law that mandates PTC, also authorized $50 million a year in rail safety technology grants to help Amtrak and commuter railroads pay for its implementation.

But in the 7 years since the law was passed Congress has only appropriated funding once.

$50 million a year wasn't enough then, and it sure it's enough now.

That's why, I introduced a bill with Congressman Lipinski in March to reauthorize PTC funding at $200 million a year.

It's time for Congress to finish what it started.

It's time for Congress to get serious about investing in our nation's transportation infrastructure.

It's time for Congress to help our commuter railroads implement positive train control and prevent the kind of tragedies we saw on Amtrak last week.