WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Jackie Walorski (IN-02) issued the following statement after the House passed H.R. 3819, the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2015, legislation would extend the deadline for positive train control (PTC) and prevent major disruptions both passenger and freight rail across the United States:
“As one of the largest manufacturing districts in the nation, hardworking Hoosiers from the Second Congressional District export a large quantity of goods around the world,” Walorski said. “PTC is vitally important to thousands of businesses that depend on safe trains to deliver goods and passengers who count on trains to get them safely to their destination. We worked extremely hard to bring our colleagues together and quickly pass an extension that will allow our farmers to get crops to markets, passengers to get to and from work, and allow our goods to be transported without any interruption.”
Under the bill, railroads would have until Dec. 31, 2018, to install positive train control, and could seek a waiver for up to another two years if needed.
After serious train wrecks in the 2000’s, Congress passed the Rail Safety Improvement Act in 2008 for full implementation of positive train control (PTC) safety technology for January 1 of this year. The arbitrary deadline set by Congress for implementation did not reflect the high costs and technological challenges of developing and deploying the new technology on approximately 60,000 miles of track around the U.S. Earlier this year, Walorski joined a group of bipartisan members on a letter to both the Speaker and Minority leader asking to bring to the floor legislation to extend a dead line extension.
Walorski represents the 2nd Congressional District in Indiana, where she serves as a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, House Armed Services Committee, and House Committee on Agriculture.
