Congress passed the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 to improve railroad safety. President George W. Bush signed the measure into law.
The most significant provision of the legislation was a mandate that most U.S. railroads implement positive train control (PTC) technology by 2015.
This was spurred by a September 12, 2008, train wreck. A Union Pacific freight train and a Metrolink commuter train collided head-on in the Chatsworth community of Los Angeles, California.
The technology was operational on required railroads by the end of 2020, following two delays.
