Washington, D.C. – Today, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-WV) and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) wrote to a key Senate Committee and requested at least $50 million in funding for a new railroad safety technology grant program, created by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008. 

 

This grant program provides funding for necessary safety improvements, including the installation of positive train control (PTC) technology.

 

The full text of the Senators’ letter follows:

 

 

                                                                      June 22, 2009

 

 

The Honorable Patty Murray                              The Honorable Christopher Bond

Chairman                                                         Ranking Member

Transportation, Housing and                              Transportation, Housing and

Urban Development                                          Urban Development

Appropriations Subcommittee                            Appropriations Subcommittee

142 Dirksen Senate Office Building                     128 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510                                      Washington, DC 20510

 

Dear Madam Chairman Murray and Ranking Member Bond:

 

We respectfully request that the railroad safety technology grants program authorized in the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) (P.L. 110-432) be fully funded, at a minimum, in the Fiscal Year 2010 (FY10) Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill.  These grants were authorized at $50 million for FY10.  This new program will provide critical funding for the implementation of positive train control and other necessary safety improvements.

 

Last October, Congress passed the RSIA following the tragic collision of a commuter rail train and a freight train in Southern California that killed 25 people and left 138 injured.  Based on the facts revealed in the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) initial accident investigation, if positive train control had been installed on the tracks that are shared by commuter and freight rail trains, the accident could have been prevented.  RSIA requires that positive train control be implemented on main lines where intercity passenger rail and commuter rail trains operate and over which poison-or toxic-by-inhalation hazardous materials are transported.

   

More commuters are turning to commuter rail today than ever before.  In these tough economic times, with many commuter rail agencies facing budget cuts, funding for the railroad safety technology grants is vital to ensure that important safety measures continue to be implemented.

 

We cannot afford to delay the implementation of positive train control and other life saving safety measures on our nation’s busiest commuter-freight rail corridors.  We respectfully request you fully fund the railroad safety technology grants for FY10, at a minimum, at the authorized amount.  Thank you for your consideration of this important request.

 

Sincerely,

 

Barbara Boxer                                                                         John D. Rockefeller IV

United States Senator                                                              United States Senator            

 

 

 

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