US To Scale Back Rules On Train-Safety Technology

[mahatmakanejeeves]

I can provide links to the proposed rules in the Federal Register if you need them. Hat tip to the RailScan Yahoo! group for the tip.

US To Scale Back Rules On Train-Safety Technology

By Josh Mitchell, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The Obama administration has agreed to scale back rules requiring the installation of new safety technology on passenger and freight trains, resolving a legal dispute over the multibillion-dollar safety endeavor.

The move, confirmed by a Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Friday, will likely lead to substantial cost savings for the railroad industry as it works to meet a congressional mandate for installing collision-avoidance hardware, known as "positive train control." Congress mandated the technology-- which automatically stops a train if the operator misses a red stop signal--in the wake of a 2008 train collision in California that killed 25 people.

The move to scale back the rules risks a backlash from labor unions that pushed for the safety requirements.

Railroads, while supporting the initiative in the broad sense, said the final rules, put in place in January 2010 requiring the technology be installed by December 2015, go too far in requiring the technology on sections of track that pose minimal safety concerns. The industry filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the rules.

[old mark]

1. K&R- Hey it's a TRAIN-What could go wrong?...

:eyes:

mark