The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Wednesday introduced a five-year surface transportation funding bill, a successor to the now-expired SAFETEA-LU, that would extend Congress’ mandated deadline for Positive Train Control (PTC) by five years, from Dec. 31, 2015, to Dec. 31, 2020. It also would revamp the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program–and allow larger and heavier trucks on U.S. highways
Norfolk Southern has announced a $2.4 billion capital improvement program for 2012, 12% higher than 2011 spending.
The stakes are big in the race to build a new generation of American high speed trains. “If we can get one high speed system up and running, others will follow.”
Prudent and persistent capital investment has positioned Union Pacific for a robust recovery. For a railroad the size of Union Pacific, planning and spending multibillion-dollar capital budgets is an exercise in prudence, precision, and vision.
Although the Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2008 was written primarily for the Class I’s, many of the short line and regional railroads that touch roughly one out of every five carloads the Class I’s handle will have to deal with this mostly unfunded mandate.
PTC’s cost, technical challenges, and tight time frame are giving the railroads headaches. Suppliers are working feverishly to provide relief.
Although the Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2008 was written primarily for the Class I’s, many of the short line and regional railroads that touch roughly one out of every five carloads the Class I’s handle will have to deal with this mostly unfunded mandate.
The Class I’s are, and the technical cooperation, says one key participant, “is truly remarkable.”
On May 18, 2009, the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers-North American Section (IRSE-NAS) will hold its Annual General Meeting at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn., in conjunction with the Railway Systems Suppliers, Inc. (RSSI) 2009 Exposition.
