If any of you think that this major accident, due to the lack of Positive Train Control, may get Congress to quit cutting funds to Amtrac and to quit postponing implementation of Positive Train Control, might consider an investment in WAB which is the leading producer of PTC. (I personally have no idea whether the accident will have that effect or not. Congress can be pretty irrationally stubborn when it wants to be, but the accident certainly doesn’t hurt chances for implementation.)
Saul
PS - In fact, companies that work on repairing roads, bridges, dams, etc might get a boost too, if Congress get worried about a major bridge collapsing because they’ve cut funding for infrastructure repair spending. I’m not sure which companies that would be, and I’m certainly not sure if Congress will reverse itself about cutting infrastructure spending.
6 Likes
…may get Congress to quit cutting funds to Amtrac and to quit postponing implementation of Positive Train Control, might consider an investment in WAB which is the leading producer of PTC. (I personally have no idea whether the accident will have that effect or not.
From CNN (reporting on a House vote on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the New York-bound train crashed)…
The appropriations committee also defeated an amendment that would have spent $825 million to fund a specific infrastructure improvement known as Positive Train Control, a system that combines GPS, wireless radio and computers to monitor trains and stop them from colliding, derailing or speeding.
3 Likes
From CNN (reporting on a House vote on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the New York-bound train crashed)…
The appropriations committee also defeated an amendment that would have spent $825 million to fund a specific infrastructure improvement known as Positive Train Control, a system that combines GPS, wireless radio and computers to monitor trains and stop them from colliding, derailing or speeding.
Wow, Thanks! When people get fixed on cutting it’s amazing what insane things can happen.
If any of you think that this major accident, due to the lack of Positive Train Control, may get Congress to quit cutting funds to Amtrac and to quit postponing implementation of Positive Train Control, might consider an investment in WAB which is the leading producer of PTC. (I personally have no idea whether the accident will have that effect or not. Congress can be pretty irrationally stubborn when it wants to be, but the accident certainly doesn’t hurt chances for implementation.)
There does seem to be some action towards ramping up implementation of Positive Train Control as a result of accident.
Los Angeles Times today:
The federal government has ordered Amtrak to install automatic braking systems on the stretch of track where a train moving at twice the speed limit derailed at a curve in Philadelphia, killing eight people.
The Federal Railroad Administration also ordered Amtrak on Saturday to assess all lines in its busy Northeast corridor to find curves where trains must significantly slow down.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-amtrak-automatic-braking…
And, CNN, this morning:
Amtrak was spending the weekend installing new speed controls on the section of track where one of its passenger trains derailed near Philadelphia, as investigators examined reports that the New York-bound train was one of three hit by an unknown object shortly before the fatal crash.
The installation of the Automatic Train Control (ATC) system to slow speeding trains follows an order by the Federal Railroad Administration to Amtrak to take immediate steps to improve safety on the busy Northeast Corridor.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/16/us/philadelphia-amtrak-train-d…
okapimoon
1 Like
PTC has already been mandated
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_train_control
the FRA published final regulations for PTC systems on January 15, 2010.[9] The agency proposed amendments to its rules on December 11, 2012.[10]
In December 2010, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that Amtrak and the major Class I railroads have taken steps to install PTC systems under the law, but the work may not be complete by the 2015 deadline
Amtrak has been dragging it’s feet. They have the money but used for other things. Some blame also goes to the government , taking all of 2010, 2011, and 2012 to complete the regulations.
The estimated cost sound too high to me too, but that is a hunch . I have no evidence.
Whatever the crash isn’t a reason for working Americans to cough up even more tax money to support lower fares for the Northeast and Washington elites to ride below cost.
4 Likes