Companies Facing Technology Deadline Must Keep Passengers, Freight on the Rails

For Immediate Release (#15-18) Contact: Benet J. Wilson 443-838-7033 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Responding to public statements made by several Class 1 freight railroads, the National Association of Railroad Passengers is calling on Congress to preserve access to the safe movement of people and goods by taking appropriate steps to responsibly extend the deadline for implementing Positive Train Control (PTC) beyond December 31, 2015. PTC is a signaling technology that helps prevents trains from colliding and traveling at unsafe speeds. Federal safety officials have determined it would have prevented the May 2015 Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia that cost eight lives. Congress passed a law requiring PTC implementation on lines carrying passengers and toxic inhalation hazards (TIH) following a deadly train in Chatsworth, Calif., in 2008. "Congress passed a law in 2008 requiring railroads to implement PTC technology with the right goals in mind: bringing the U.S.

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