GAO Agrees Railroads Won't Meet 2015 Positive Train Control Deadline

The Government Accountability Office (GOA) released a report yesterday on the status of the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) systems on major freight and commuter railroads. The Report, attached here, was prepared at the request of Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and was originally provided to him on August 16, 2013.

The GAO's findings, and recommendations, mirror what the FRA determined one year ago in the FRA's own report to congress on PTC implementation. According to the most recent GAO report, only one major railroad, BNSF, will meet the current statutory deadline of 2015 for PTC. The GAO even doubts industry estimates by the AAR that compliance could be accomplished by the end of 2018.

GAO recommends that Congress amend the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) to permit the FRA to:

(1) extend PTC deadlines on individual rail lines, and grant incremental extensions on a case-by-case basis;

(2) grant provisional certification of PTC systems under controlled conditions before final system certification (to address the concern of delays in certification following compliance deadlines caused by FRA resource limitations);

(3) approve the use of alternative safety technologies in lieu of PTC if PTC functions can be met by other means.

Senators Request GAO Review of RR Safety

On August 28, 2012 three U.S. Senators requested the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct a "comprehensive evaluation of the state of the country's railroad safety programs and policies."

The request was made by three Democratic Senators, Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Durbin (D-IL), and Lautenberg (D-NJ). Prompting this requested review was the recent derailment in Ellicott City, MD, the derailment and fire following an ethanol train derailment in Ohio, and a coal train derailment and bridge collapse near Chicago in July.

The Senators specfically requested that the review address how railroads and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) evaluate risk factors for rail safety in the allocation of inspection and safety resources.