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On the eve of the first anniversary marking a train derailment that killed eight people, Sen. Bob Casey called on his fellow lawmakers to keep Amtrak trains on track and on time, literally, by providing the full $1.9 billion requested for 2017.
“We’re thinking of those who lost their lives and those who suffered great injury,” Casey said in a teleconference Wednesday, referring to the May 12 derailment of Amtrak 188 last year near Philadelphia. “One of the best ways to respond is to get policies right going forward.”
Amtrak 188 derailed after entering a curve at 106 miles per hour, more than twice the posted limit. The stretch of track lacked what is known as Positive Train Control, a high-tech system intended to track a train’s speed, compared to track situations ahead and, if necessary, automatically apply the brake.
Casey, D-Scranton, said the need for PTC on all Amtrak rails is reason enough to grant the $1.9 billion, rather than $1.4 billion or less proposed by some lawmakers.
“It’s not enough to talk and talk about safety, or even to talk about extending our condolences when a tragedy occurs,” Casey said. “If you’re going to be a talker on this issue, you should also be a doer.”
While Casey focused on PTC, he also noted the money is needed for infrastructure repairs and upgrades, including bridge and tunnel work.
Amtrak has already been installing PTC in the Northeast Corridor, its busiest service area, where it owns much of the track used. But elsewhere Amtrak uses rails owned by freight companies. Asked if that poses an obstacle for PTC installation, Casey said he doesn’t think so, but it shouldn’t matter.
“The worst thing we could do is use technical challenges as an excuse for doing nothing.”
Casey didn’t mention the long-discussed dream of restoring rail service from New York City to Scranton and eventually to Wilkes-Barre — which he and other local lawmakers support — but that may be no surprise.
When Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman wrote a letter to the Senate and House leaders outlining reasons for his request of $1.8 billion, it stressed the need for PTC and infrastructure repairs, not new services. President Barack Obama’s request for $1.9 billion echoed those priorities.
The full cost of restoring such passenger service was estimated at more than half-a-billion dollars a decade ago, which would be more than 25 percent of the total requested for 2017.