Freight train industry to miss safety deadline

The U.S. freight railroad industry says only one-fifth of its track will be equipped with mandatory safety technology to prevent most collisions and derailments by the deadline set by Congress.

The Association of American Railroads said in a report Wednesday that about 20 percent of the approximately 60,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) of track being equipped with the technology will meet the deadline of Dec. 31, 2015. Previously, the association had estimated 40 percent would meet the deadline.

The association blamed the Federal Communications Commission, saying the FCC is holding up the installation of 22,000 antennas on track wayside that are necessary to complete installation of the technology, known as positive train control.

The commission is requiring railroads to ensure that each antenna will not disturb sites of importance to Native Americans.

© 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Citation: Freight train industry to miss safety deadline (2014, April 16) retrieved 18 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2014-04-freight-industry-safety-deadline.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

NTSB: Upgrade likely could have prevented NY crash

0 shares

Feedback to editors