PTC

House passes H.R. 3819; Boxer stands alone in her corner

The House of Representatives on Oct. 27, 2015 approved H.R. 3819, The Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2015, legislation that funds and extends the authorization for federal highway and transit programs through Nov. 20, but more important, extends the deadline for implementation of Positive Train Control by at least three years. The bill now goes to the Senate, which has two days to consider it—with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) vehemently opposed.

House T&I passes H.R. 3763, PTC extension intact. Now the fun begins

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Oct. 22, 2015 unanimously approved the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform (STRR) Act of 2015 (H.R. 3763). Among the STRR Act’s numerous provisions is a minimum three-year extension of the looming PTC deadline.

Railroads: Leave PTC with the STB

Major railroads on Monday, Oct. 19, 2015 asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the American Chemistry Council and other trade associations seeking to prevent the railroads from suspending service for shipments of TIH (toxic-inhalation hazard) commodities if Congress doesn’t extend the Dec. 31 PTC implementation deadline.

NS: No PTC extension? No PIH trains. No passenger trains

Norfolk Southern on Oct. 20, 2015 said, effective Dec. 1, 2015, it will no longer accept shipments of Poisonous-Inhalation-Hazard (PIH) commodities, and that passenger trains operated by Amtrak, Virginia Railway Express and Metra will be prohibited from operating on NS after Dec. 31.

Commentary

PTC: “It ain’t over till it’s over”

The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee has passed H.R. 3763, the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015, commonly referred to as the “Highway Bill.” Buried deep within the document (p. 504) is language with provisions to extend the PTC deadline to Dec. 31, 2018, with up to 24 months of additional extensions granted by the FRA on a case-by-case basis.

RailComm Insight™ launches at Railway Interchange 2015

RailComm is launching its newest smart monitoring and analytics platform, RailComm InsightTM, at Railway Interchange 2015 in Minneapolis, Oct. 4-6. In addition, the company will be showcasing other new software and hardware products for yard automation and main line dispatching.

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