Congressional Action Needed to Keep the Trains Running in 2016

Statement

Congressman Kevin Cramer again called on Congress to extend the Positive Train Control (PTC) implementation deadline for railroads. If Congress fails to extend the December 31 deadline, railroads may be forced to stop or reroute rail traffic resulting in massive delays in the timely transport of goods and people throughout the country.

"There is plenty of blame to go around as to why full PTC implementation will not be met," said Cramer. "We need to provide the railroads a reasonable extension in order to avoid very real, systemic consequences."

The Government Accountability Office recently released a report critical of the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) oversight, in their opinion contributing to current PTC implementation issues.

"In my opinion the FRA should learn from the Surface and Transportation Board and their effective execution of authority during our recent rail service crisis. Since no one benefits from unsafe railroads, transparency and communication between the stakeholders, their regulators, and the public we all serve is the most effective means to resolve PTC implementation and all serious issues," continued Cramer.

Cramer also announced BNSF Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) publicly filed weekly grain backlog status updates as required by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB). A summary of the reporting data specific to North Dakota for the last 10 weeks is below.

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