New bill mandates that railroads use collision-prevention system

WASHINGTON -- All major railroads would be required under new legislation in Congress to install a collision-prevention system that experts have said could have averted last week's deadly train crash in California.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both California Democrats, filed the legislation Tuesday in response to last Friday's head-on collision between a commuter train and a freight train in Chatsworth, just north of Los Angeles.

The crash -- the nation's deadliest train accident in 15 years -- killed 25 people and injured more than 130, including 40 critically.

Feinstein said during a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday that the accident happened because of a resistance in the railroad community to use existing collision-prevention technology.

Unless Congress mandates the equipment, "it's going to happen again," Feinstein warned.

Under the Feinstein-Boxer legislation, freight and commuter railroads would be required to come up with plans to install a collision-prevention system known as "positive train control" within one year after the bill becomes law.

Rail lines designated as "high-risk" by the U.S. Department of Transportation would be required to have the collision-prevention equipment in place by the end of 2012.

All other trains would have to install equipment by the end of 2014. Rail lines that fail to comply could face fines of up to $100,000.

Though there are several types of "positive train control," many of the systems use Global Positioning System technology and digital communications to monitor the location and speed of trains. If engineers don't comply with signals, the system automatically brings the trains to a stop.

The collision-prevention equipment already is in use in parts of the Northeast and in Chicago and Detroit, but railroads have argued that it could cost billions of dollars to use the equipment on tracks across the country.

The House and the Senate already have passed legislation to implement the technology, but time is running out to work out differences in the bills.

Feinstein said the new legislation includes parts of both bills, which she hopes will help move it quickly though Congress, possibly by the end of next week.

Failure to use the collision-prevention controls is not only negligence, "I'll even go so far to say it's criminal negligence," Feinstein said.

(Contact Michael Collins at collinsm(at)shns.com.)