WASHINGTON - U.S. commuter and freight railroads may be forced to suspend service or face daily fines beginning Jan. 1, unless Congress extends its year-end deadline for implementing new safety technology , lawmakers were told on Wednesday.
The top U.S. railroad regulator said fines would apply for each violation after the Dec. 31 deadline to implement a technology that can automatically slow or stop a train, called positive train control, or PTC.
The National Transportation Safety Board estimated that more than 245 people have died and 4,260 have been injured in preventable accidents since it began calling for PTC in 1969. Accidents the agency said PTC would have prevented include the deadly Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia on May 12.
"Fines will be based on (our) PTC penalty guidelines, which establish different penalties depending on the violation. The fines may be assessed per violation, per day," Sarah Feinberg , acting administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration , said at an oversight hearing in the House of Representatives .
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"Our ultimate goal is to bring all railroads into compliance as quickly, and as safely, as possible."
Federal regulations list 61 fineable PTC violations totaling $485,500 to $815,500, depending on whether they are deemed "willful." Officials said violations could multiply quickly if assigned to separate pieces of equipment or track.
