of reasons cited for the PTC’s delay in com- pleting the project, though parts of it have been completed. Among these are budget constraints, still-evolving technology, access to the necessary radio spectrum, and timely approval on that from the FCC.
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The week of our Hamberger interview, Capi- tol Hill evinced some signs of growing impa- tience with the pace of putting Positive Train Control in place — except that a powerful sub-committee chairman apparently did not disagree with AAR’s view and instead boot- ed the snail-pace, foot-dragging (or whatever negative was implied) into the laps of the ad- ministration. Railroad sub-committee chair- man Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) declared, after dropping the gavel to bring the session to order, “I have heard too many industry and safety advocates say that the Department of Transportation needs to move more quickly to implement safety provisions Congress has passed. It is unusual to hear that the indus- try wants to be regulated, and it is pushing for rules. But the reality is companies cannot invest in new equipment, in new employees, and in new ventures without regulatory cer- tainty.” Chairman Denham recalled that in two previous hearings, “we expressed our frustration with the administration about how not enough progress has been made in getting numerous rules out.” Minutes later the congressman pins the
blame not on the temporary heads of the pipe- lines and railroad agencies, but on the Obama Administration’s slow action in putting per- manent leadership in place at those entities so the PTC program can move forward.
Remember? Back in 2008, these pag-
es were heavily covering a tragic California commuter freight rail accident in Chatsworth that killed 25 people. Coming as it did on top of previous Metrolink problems, that was more than enough to galvanize congressio- nal action in D.C. on Positive Train Control. While its construction apparently does lag in other places, we are informed PTC technology has been installed in the relevant locations of fairly recent California accidents.
“Diesel to LNG”: Are We There Yet?
Back to our Hamberger interview, one more thing: When will there be — if ultimately it is decided — that each one of AAR’s member railroads will decide on its own what path to follow on whether and how soon to bring LNG (liquified natural gas) into the lead for locomo- tive power to replace diesel, just as diesel back in the ’50s followed the 100-plus years when steam was king? The individual railroads are doing their own thing on that one. “As for us here at AAR,” he adds, “we’re still trying to figure out what a tender will look like.
NIMBYism… Another Return
Voices in the legislature of the Lone Star State have been raised in opposition to the privately funded High Speed Rail proposal and have signed a letter to Texas senators and representatives in Washington to stop a planned Houston-Dallas High Speed Rail project in their state. The eight declared that the project may benefit a few rural counties whose residents will have “a few jobs” avail- able. These kinds of objections happen quite often when “eminent domain” issues are in- volved. But in the long run, according to crit-
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