FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Association of American Railroads Applauds Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison for Commonsense Approach to Rail Safety Regulation
AAR urges other Senators to support Bill that helps America’s freight railroads more wisely deploy safety technologies
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Feb. 9, 2011 – The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today applauded the introduction of a bill by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) that will scale back certain regulations required by the Federal Railroad Administration for implementing the Positive Train Control (PTC) mandate.
PTC represents the most costly federal mandate in history for America’s freight railroads, with the FRA estimating that it will cost over $5 billion for the freight rail industry alone to install PTC on more than 73,000 miles of tracks by 2015.
Senator Hutchison’s bill would change the date used to determine which rail lines have to be equipped with PTC based on the transport of highly toxic chemicals from 2008 to the Congressionally mandated 2015.
The freight railroads estimate that more than 10,000 miles used in 2008 to transport highly toxic chemicals alone will not be in used in 2015.
"Senator Hutchison has taken an important first step in bringing commonsense to the implementation of PTC, and we urge her Senate colleagues to stand with her and the bill’s original co-sponsors in fighting this excess regulation," said AAR President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger.
"Safety is and has always been our priority and we’re eager to work with the FRA to implement a realistic blueprint for the installation of PTC that will not divert critical investment from other safety measures and infrastructure.
"We must work together to ensure that our world class freight rail network can continue to deliver for America’s economy, and is not slowed down by mandates that hamper our ability to serve our customers effectively and safely. With one third of the nation’s exports touched by freight rail, improving the nation’s rail is vital to strengthening the nation’s economic future."
The bill was also cosponsored by Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).
For more information on PTC, visit:
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For more information contact: Holly Arthur, harthur@aar.org, 202-639-2344
About AAR: The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the world's leading railroad policy, research and technology organization.
AAR members include the major freight railroads, or Class I railroads, of the U.S., Canada and Mexico, as well as Amtrak.
For more information,
visit www.aar.org.
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