Legislation

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Legislation

New Rail Competition Study Rejects Reregulation

December 19, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON – A new study for the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on competition in the freight railroad industry says that “both railroads and their customers benefited” from the partial rail deregulation introduced by the Staggers Rail Act of 1980. The study also rejected the principal proposals for reregulation of the railroad industry, saying they could harm the industry or would otherwise be inappropriate. “We’re pleased that this independent study has affirmed key economic principles on which the STB has relied for many years in its regulation of the railroad industry,” said Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and CEO Edward
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Amtrak

Kummant: Legislation ‘Places Rail Passenger Service on a More Equal Footing With Other Modes’

October 2, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON – Legislation that allocates $12.9 billion over five years for Amtrak creates for the first time a “federal funding partnership which places rail passenger service on a more equal footing with other modes,” Amtrak President and CEO Alex Kummant said. Both the House and the Senate have approved the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act, which includes the money for Amtrak. “The work on this authorization bill spanned nearly three congresses and does change the existing conditions for Amtrak, the rail industry and the states,” Kummant said. “Apart from safety enhancements, the bill creates for the first time a state
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Commuter Rail

Oink, Oink: Calif. ‘Bullet Train to Bankruptcy’

October 2, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — Citizens Against Government Waste and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation have listed a proposed high-speed rail line in California in their sixth annual California Piglet Book. The book is touted as “the definitive guide for reducing waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the state government.” California voters in November will have the chance to vote on Proposition 1A, a “bullet train to bankruptcy,” CAGW said. If voters approve the project’s initial $9.95 billion down payment, promoters will likely need to come back to taxpayers for another $70 billion to complete the project, CAGW said. — Railfanning.org News Wire
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Commuter Rail

Senate Approves Rail Safety Bill; Billions go to Passenger Rail

October 2, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON —  The U.S. Senate has approved the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008. The legislation will increase funding for Amtrak over the next five years, require new safety controls on trains that help reduce crashes, allow states to regulate solid waste processing facilities along rail lines and allocate funding for improvements to Washington, D.C.’s Metro transit system. “This is a real step forward for anyone who’s tired of sitting in traffic, paying high prices at the pump and waiting in long lines at airports,” Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., chairman
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BNSF

House Approves Rail Safety Bill; Billions to go to Passenger Rail

September 27, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives has approved legislation that proponents say will improve the Nation’s intercity passenger rail system and the safety of the nation’s railroads. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 will increase funding for Amtrak over the next five years, require new safety controls on trains that help reduce crashes, allow states to regulate solid waste processing facilities along rail lines and allocate funding for improvements to Washington’s Metro transit system. The legislation sets “an aggressive deadline” of 2015 for implementation of positive train control (PTC)
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Commuter Rail

Oberstar: Deadly Train Crash was Preventable

September 16, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — Friday’s fatal Metrolink train crash was preventable, according to Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. In the wreck, a Metrolink commuter train collided with a Union Pacific freight train in Los Angeles, killing 25 people and injuring 135 others. The Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R. 2095), a bill the House of Representatives passed last year, would require trains to be equipped with Positive Train Control (PTC), a collision avoidance system. PTC has been at the top of the National Transportation Safety Board’s priority list for nearly two
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Legislation

Congressional Leaders Introduce Bill Directing STB to Consider Public Interest in Proposed Rail Transactions

August 1, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board (STB) would be required to take into account the safety and environmental effects on local communities when considering a merger or acquisition proposal by a railroad, under legislation introduced last night by Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., Chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The Taking Responsible Action for Community Safety Act clarifies that, prior to approval of a merger or acquisition proposal by a Class I railroad of a Class II or Class III railroad, the STB must consider factors such as public safety, emergency response time, and noise impacts. The legislation