WASHINGTON -- The nation's rail lines, including the state-owned Alaska Railroad, have been granted several years of reprieve from a costly train safety regulation thanks to a provision included in a short-term transportation funding bill Congress passed this week.
The federal train safety regulations were giving the state heartache given the current fiscal climate. Early this year railroad executives expressed concern that they wouldn't be able install the $160 million system by the Obama administration's 2015 deadline.
"It will absolutely be helpful for us," said Tim Sullivan, a spokesman for the Alaska Railroad Corp. There's no way the "unfunded federal mandate" would have been ready by the deadline, Sullivan said.
"And it appears there weren't any major railroads in the Lower 48 that were going to meet it either," Sullivan said.
The House and Senate passed a three-week funding extension for transportation projects, giving themselves until Nov. 20 to come up with a comprehensive, multiyear deal.
But lawmakers also included the extension for meeting the positive train control requirements, recognizing that most operators would simply have to shut down train systems across the U.S. The system uses advanced technology as a backup to train operators, stopping or slowing a train if it runs through a red signal or ignores reduced speeds on a segment of track.
Alaska Railroad now has until the end of 2018 to install the technology. The bill would give them another two years if they meet certain benchmarks along the way.
"Positive Train Control has been a significant challenge for the entire railroad industry, but particularly difficult for the Alaska Railroad given our state's current fiscal climate," Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, said in a statement.
"For years we've heard that the exorbitant costs associated with implementing this system, coupled with untested rail technologies, would make it nearly impossible to meet the fast approaching deadline," Young said. "Without this extension, railroads across the country have made it clear they would be forced to shut down passenger and freight service to avoid stiff federal fines."
The project will cost Alaska Railroad $160 million to put in place, Sullivan said. The railroad has used a patchwork of funding to get it together, but it is still $18 million short of being able to finish by the end of 2018, Sullivan said.
He said that across the U.S., the cost of the positive train control is estimated at about $10 billion to $15 billion.
Upkeep on the system will also cost the Alaska Railroad about $8 million to $12 million a year, once installed, Sullivan said. The railroad's total yearly revenue runs around $150 million, Sullivan said.