Är det en följd av beslutet i Senaten enligt nedan? FRA som är inblandade, det är väl knappast samma FRA som vi diskuterar i Sverige !
lle.
"Rail safety, Amtrak measures approved
Two landmark pieces of legislation that were presented to the U.S. Senate as a package deal--the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008--have been passed by a wide, 74-24 margin and are headed to the White House. President Bush is expected to sign the measure into law. The House previously voted in favor of the legislation.
Described as "the most comprehensive rail safety bill in more than 30 years," the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008’s major provisions include:
* Conductor certification: Within 18 months of the bill's becoming law, the FRA must establish a program to certify conductors, including minimum training standards.
* Positive Train Control: Requires installation of PTC by Dec. 31, 2015, on all main line track where intercity passenger and commuter railroads operate, and where TIH (toxic-by-inhalation hazmat) is transported. Also, grants are provided to assist railroads in implementing ECP brakes and switch-position indicators. The railroads, represented by the AAR, supported these provisions, which are less ambitious than the originally proposed 2012 PTC implementation timetable .
* Hours-of-service: Requires at least 10 consecutive uninterrupted hours off duty following 12 hours on duty. There is a three-year exception for passenger train employees, during which time their hours of service limitations will be studied by the FRA. No freight railroad employee covered by the hours-of-service law may be called to work unless they have had at least 10 uninterrupted hours off during the prior 24-hour period. And following each six days of work, a covered employee must be given 48 hours of uninterrupted time off at their home terminal. If the carrier requires that employee to work a 7th day--even if it is to return them to their home terminal--then the uninterrupted time-off at the home terminal must be at least 72 hours. As to limbo time, no employee covered by the hours-of-service law may be placed in limbo time after they have been on duty, waited for deadhead transportation, or been in any other mandatory service for more than a total of 276 hours in any month. Total limbo time per month is restricted to no more than 40 hours--reduced to 30 hours on the first anniversary of the bill’s becoming law.
* Locomotive cab safety: Requires the FRA study the safety impact of the use of train crews using personal electronic devices (personal cell phones, Blackberries, iPods and other electronic devices), except for company business, and then only when two crewpersons are in the cab. In the wake of the Sept. 12 Metrolink crash in California that killed 25, the FRA said it will issue an emergency order "explicitly prohibiting the use of personal electronic devices by railroad employees while operating trains and in other settings." The NTSB has determined that Metrolink engineer Robert Sanchez, who was killed in the wreck, sent a cell phone text message 22 seconds before his commuter train crashed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train. His cell phone records show he sent a text message after receiving one about a minute and 20 seconds before the crash. They also show that he sent 24 text messages and received 21 messages over a two-hour period during his morning shift, and during his afternoon shift he received seven and sent five messages, according to the NTSB. In the days after the crash, several teenage railfans told a Los Angeles Times reporter that Sanchez sent them a text message just before the collision. (FRA Thursday afternoon issued an emergency order banning the use of all electronic devices in locomotive cabs.)
* Medical attention: Prohibits railroads from denying, delaying, or interfering with the medical or first aid treatment of injured workers, and from disciplining those workers that request treatment. Also requires railroads to arrange for immediate transport of injured workers to the nearest appropriate hospital.
* FRA inspector staffing: Increases the number of federal rail safety inspectors and supporting staff by 200.
The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 contains provisions to invest in Amtrak and expand intercity rail passenger. It supports a five-year cumulative $13.1 billion federal subsidy to Amtrak, provides seed money for the development of additional high-speed rail corridors, and permits the STB to fine host freight railroads that delay Amtrak trains, should it be determined after an investigation that a delay was indeed the fault of the host freight railroad. Federal grants are provided to states to develop new services, increase capacity on heavily used rail lines, and attract new riders. For high speed, grants are provided to construct 11 to-be-determined corridors. Advocates cautioned, however, that reauthorizing Amtrak does not guarantee funding.
Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) voted for the bill. His opponent, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) voted against it. Remarked one industry observer, "McCain's 'no' vote is clearly a 'say no to Amtrak' statement. It's incredible that he would vote against a comprehensive safety bill the railroads themselves support simply because he's against Amtrak."
The complete, 315-page bill can be downloaded in PDF form by clicking on this link.
http://www.utu.org/worksite/PDFs/RR_bill_092508.pdf "
lle.