PEORIA, Ill. — A three-week extension of surface transportation funding approved by the U.S. House last week and signed into law by President Barack Obama on Oct. 29 includes a three-year extension of the deadline for Class I freight and passenger railroads to implement positive train control (PTC) technology.
With the federally-mandated implementation date of Dec. 31 rapidly approaching, the extension came as a relief to agricultural transportation interests concerned the deadline would force railroads to cease delivery of certain ag products, including outgoing harvested crops and incoming fertilizers.
Failure to approve the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2015 (H.R. 3819), which includes the PTC extension, would have produced devastating economic impacts, according to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Bill Shuster (R-Pa.).
"Not only will railroads stop shipping important chemicals critical to manufacturing, agriculture, clean drinking water and other industrial activities, but passenger and commuter rail transportation will virtually screech to a halt," Shuster said, as the bill awaited Obama’s signature.
The Assoc. of American Railroads (AAR) and American Public Transportation Assoc. warned Congress railroads will need several more years to achieve full implementation of PTC on their lines. Many railroads were making plans to shut down certain routes or entire systems to avoid the liability, federal penalty and contractual consequences of non-compliance, they cautioned.
"Railroads are beginning to notify their customers of the possibility of an impending shutdown as they, too, have to prepare for such a worst-case scenario," AAR President and CEO Ed Hamberger told Progressive Railroading in September. "Congress can’t wait until November or December when the clock is about to run out."
A PTC-related shutdown would result in a $30 billion economic loss in the first quarter of 2016 and lead to the layoff of some 700,000 workers, Shuster said. The deadline for PTC implementation was set by Congress through the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
National Assoc. of Wheat Growers President Brett Blankenship said while PTC is important to U.S. rail safety, a shutdown would have had disastrous consequences for wheat growers who rely on the rail system to move their grain.
"When implemented, PTC will be a critical safety component of our national rail network. It remains essential for Congress to hold railroads accountable to efficiently complete the PTC requirements," said Blankenship, a Washington state wheat grower.
Farmers and ag shippers should have been increasingly concerned about the looming PTC deadline if the highway bill extension had not gained the approval of Obama, according to Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition. Toxic materials such as fertilizers are among the products shippers would have been prohibited from carrying without the extension of PTC implementation, he explained.
"Anhydrous ammonia is an example of a toxic material that would not be transported by railroads if a PTC extension is not provided. Many cooperatives have or are making plans to receive and distribute fertilizer for the spring of 2016. In order to conduct this planning, cooperatives require a predictable forecast for rail service. The lack of resolution to the PTC debate (was) creating uncertainty," he said.
PTC is a computerized system of monitoring and controlling train movements in order to increase safety. Congress requires railroads to install PTC on portions of their networks on which passengers or toxic materials or chemicals are transported.
The PTC extension contained in the highway bill extension was promoted by many policymakers, railroads and most rail customers, including those in agriculture.
The American Farm Bureau Federation, along with 47 other ag organizations, wrote in a recent letter to the House and Senate: "We are deeply concerned that failure to extend the current deadline for installation and implementation of PTC technology will result in severe service disruptions in moving a projected near-record harvest during the peak fall shipping season."
