Norfolk Southern service cutbacks related to PTC

I received it too Vince.  Not really a surprise as all the railroads have indicated they will take steps to embargo TIH and discontinue passenger operations in the absence of an extension to the deadline. UP has said they will begin to embargo TIH in mid November. 

Curt

PIH is almost everything they carry in tanks. i sure dont see this happening.-Jim

Chlorine which they use to treat drinking water and make other chemicals would be a big hit if this comes to pass.

Additionally, passenger and commuter trains operated by Amtrak, Virginia Railway Express, and Metra will be prohibited by law from operating on NS after Dec. 31.

 

It sounds like a shoot out at high noon. the commuter train mentioned above are all coming and going from Union Station DC. Without those trains DC will stop dead. DC would NOT be able to handle the car traffic, no way.

Not to worry, the supreme leader will make it all go away. hey wait a minute, this could mean I can work from home.  let them do it! more train time.

More knee Jerk reaction from the government that was not thought out. The only loser hear are the taxpayers. MTC's

The railroads are spending big bucks to comply hover they can only work when there is no rail traffic, so they cannot invent making time stand still.

John

 

The only loser hear are the taxpayers

 

That seems to be awful common in the past decade or so.

 

Larry

That statement is a PR Shot across the bow of Congress.

 

Jon

NY Times 20 OCT

WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers from the House of Representatives and Senate have reached an agreement to extend a Dec. 31 deadline for railroads to implement new safety technology, a leading Republican senator said on Tuesday.

 

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said that talks between the two chambers have successfully bridged differences on a three-year extension of the deadline for railroads to implement positive train control, or PTC.

 

"Congress now needs to pass this plan in the coming weeks to avoid service disruptions that will impact shippers across the country and commuter railroad passengers," Thune said in a statement issued by the committee. "This PTC extension will keep the pressure on freight and passenger railroads to ensure safety benefits are realized as soon as possible." 

 

PTC is a complex communications system that can avoid derailments and other accidents by automatically slowing or stopping a train. U.S. safety officials say the technology would have avoided the May 12 Amtrak derailment that killed eight people and injured more than 200 in Philadelphia.

 

Most U.S. railroads are expected to miss the Dec. 31 deadline for adopting the technology and have threatened to suspend freight and passenger service on major lines after Jan. 1, 2016, if lawmakers fail to grant an extension.

 

Railroads say PTC implementation has been hampered by high costs, bureaucratic delays and technological hurdles.

 

House lawmakers introduced legislation last month to extend the deadline for at least another three years.

 

Senators enacted their own bipartisan measure in July that would allow the U.S. Transportation Department to approve extensions on a case-by-case basis.

 

Rail operators have warned that they could begin notifying customers of possible service suspensions as early as the end of October.

 

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Eric Walsh and Eric Beech)

This is how this country is run any more- from crisis to crisis. From what I read, most accidents are derailments and PTC won't do anything to prevent that. Collisions are a small pat of the safety problem from what I have read.

Hay Jim

 

You are so correct.

 

Also, don 't forget the other big cause of deaths and injuries....IMO

 

Larry

 

PS. We wont even mention U.S. lawmakers from the House of Representatives and Senate

 

 

Will Obama veto it like everything else ??

I believe the President has indicated he will sign an extension bill when/if it is presented to him.

Curt