Some members of the Senate on Thursday were quick to blame the railroads and their lobbyists for foot-dragging on installing technology that has been available for decades, with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) also pointing the finger at the agencies that are supposed to regulate them.
“The blame belongs to the regulatory agencies that have succumbed to regulatory capture to the railroads that lobbied relentlessly for delay,” said Blumenthal, whose state has seen a spate of fatal commuter-rail crashes.
“The railroad industry has been lobbying furiously to delay the mandate,” agreed Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), one of the main drivers behind a 2008 law requiring that railroads install “positive train control” technology, in a statement.
But Congress largely refused to provide money for the technology, even as recently as Wednesday. Railroads have complained repeatedly about the costs, which they said in 2010 would outweigh the benefits 11 to 1, and clashed with the Federal Communications Commission, which rebuffed Amtrak’s request four years ago for free access to the wireless airwaves the systems require. Unexpected technical hurdles arose, including resistance from some local communities to putting up the necessary antennas.
