Page 21 - Train Control News Today

Goings, there was no criminal or other culpability. >> there -- very well could be situational awareness. theres other distractions, he had been hit with rocks or something, but nonetheless, this is a problem. you have one person up there and in most instances, and they have a ton of responsibility. it just takes the slightest oversight and youre in this jackpot. that is why for 25, 30 years, national transportation safety board has been begging the railroad industry to implement positive train ...

The more reason why we must start immediately fixing the infrastructure of the united states joining us now with reaction from lubbock, texas, mcgehee. former deputy assistant secretary of education. its great to see you, sir. the president commented about infrastructure involving the amtrak derailment. that was alternate route for that train, is it not? might not be an structure issue on that particular accident? >> well, thank you for having me, laura. it probably is, because this was about po...

$181 million upgrade to enable high-speed passenger service between seattle and portland. in fact estate was the train services inaugural run. positive train control, which can slow or stop a speeding train, was not in use on this track, and one local mayor protected there would be fatalities with these trains traveling so close to traffic. they say, will not spike laid amuck we encourage others not to speculate as well. people will want to answers and want them soon as to why this train was tra...

Control. can you explain exactly what that is and how that might have been able to make a difference in this crash? >> so positive train control has been around for decades. this is not new technology. and in fact, in 2008, after 25 people were killed in a metrolink crash in southern california, congress required that all passenger lines and high hazmat lines install positive train control by 2015. and so they gave the railroad seven years to do it. congress pushed that deadline back when it bec...

We feel like that is certainly addressed. and been prioritized in this legislation and very excited to sign it hopefully in the coming days. >> earlier reports are state that the fatal amtrak in washington, similar to 2016 philadelphia could have been prevented from positive train control which congress said would be on all lines in 2515 and thats been pushed back. is this white house considering any steps to speed up train control to stop these kinds of accidents? >> right now we are continuing...

Congress pushed that deadline back when it became evident that many of the railroads werent going to make it and so the concern from a safety perspective is not having positive train control, which is a gps-based system that backs up the engineer if theyre fatigued, if theyre distracted or incapacitated and slows or stops a train before a collision or an overspeed derailment. that technology is a lifesaver and should be on all of those routes now. >> it wasnt used here. we dont know if it was th...

Addressed and prioritized in this legislation. we will be very excited to sign it in the coming days. >> reporter: early reports are indicating the fatal amtrak derailment similar to the 2015 derailment in philadelphia could have been prevented by positive train control, which they passing 08 for all lines on 15. that has been pushed back and a quarter of passage of the lines. is this white house considering any steps to speed up the implementation of positive train control to stop this kind of ...

Trains. david gun, he was the president of amtrak from 2002 to 2005. he led some of the top transit authorities on the continent, new york, philadelphia, washington and toronto. david gun joins me now. thank you for joining us. based on what you know -- first of all lets talk about the positive train control. that has not been put into service on this train line. it was delayed until next year. what do you think about when you hear the reporting on the positive train control? >> well, railroads ...

Implemented yet. on this rail it was on the train track, but not operating on the train cars yet. it was implemented in the spring and around the nation a year from now in december of 2018. take a listen to what one said about it. >> its a great disappointment that positive train control is not implemented in every railroad across the country. it can prevent these exact types of accidents. it was mandated and unfortunately the deadline was moved further into the future. every year that we wait t...

79 miles an hour but once it goes on the ground you cant stop it. >> kennedy: what is the status and the longer distance amtrak trains and commuter trains we see in this country, considering the massive fatality crash we saw in los angeles about eight years ago? that started all of this, what is the likelihood that this train -- >> its hard to say. even if it had positive train control, it may not have affected it. if it was a broken axle, once it goes on the ground positive train control doesnt...