Rail safety overhaul heads to Bush; signature expected

By Kathy Adams

The nation's first major rail safety bill in nearly 15 years is headed to the president's desk after winning final Senate approval Wednesday evening.

The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which the House passed last week, would re-authorize the Federal Railroad Administration, approve several billion dollars to fund Amtrak operations and improvements, and mandate a range of sweeping rail safety measures.

President Bush is expected to sign the bill, although he had previously opposed authorizing money for Amtrak without requiring major reforms from the company, which lost $1.1 billion last year. The bill would approve $13 billion for Amtrak over five years and require that the company improve its accounting system and create a five-year financial plan.

Though train accidents have declined by 13 percent since 2001, according to the rail administration, the Sept. 12 Metrolink crash in California that resulted in 25 deaths refocused national attention on rail safety.

The National Transportation Safety Board reported Wednesday that the Metrolink engineer operating the train that day had sent and received a total of 57 text messages during his two duty periods, including one sent just seconds before the crash.

As a result, the Railroad Administration on Thursday prohibited the use of personal electronic devices while operating trains or performing other safety-sensitive rail jobs. The emergency order meets one provision of the safety bill.

Another provision would require that railroads either retrofit or replace so-called "camp cars," which house traveling track maintenance workers, by the end of next year.

Unions have pushed for elimination of camp cars, claiming they provide cramped, substandard living conditions.

Norfolk Southern is the only major U.S. railroad that regularly uses the cars in lieu of motel s. The Norfolk railroad is refurbishing 155 of its camper cars and will complete the process next year, spokeswoman Susan Terpay said.

"There are a lot of employees who choose to stay in these cars," Terpay said. "In locations where motel accommodations are insufficient or even nonexistent, the trailers provide safe, dependable lodging."

Several transportation unions, the Association of American Railroads and the National Association of Railroad Passengers support the safety act.

"The bill doesn't add everything we've been pushing for, but it has a lot of important provisions in there that I think are going to make the nation's railroads safer," said Edward Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department.

He said the bill would take positive steps by requiring train conductors to be certified, increasing the number of government track inspectors and requiring the implementation of new positive train control technology by 2015.

Railroads have for several years been developing and testing the technology that automatically slows or stops trains, prevents collisions, manages train traffic and performs other safety functions. But having it ready for use across thousands of miles of track by 2015 may be tough, said Tom White, a spokesman for the Association of American Railroads.

The rail safety act also would limit working hours for train crews to 12 consecutive hours, create a chief safety officer within the rail administration and require the secretary of transportation to create a five-year rail safety plan.

It would mandate that railroads remove visual obstructions at highway-rail grade crossings and provide $3.4 billion in grants for developing and improving intercity passenger rail service and high-speed rail corridors.

Kathy Adams, (757) 446-2583, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com