Rail-safety bill advances in Senate

WASHINGTON - A sweeping rail-safety bill that includes billions of dollars for Amtrak cleared a key vote in the Senate yesterday, as lawmakers invoked the Sept. 12 train collision in Los Angeles that killed 25 people.

Senators voted 69-17 to proceed to a final vote on the bill, which requires more rest for workers and technology that can stop a train in its tracks if it is headed for collision.

The vote on final passage will happen tomorrow, Majority Leader Harry Reid said. The House passed the bill last week, so the expected Senate approval would send the legislation to President Bush for his signature.

Safety technology mandated by the legislation would have prevented the disaster in Los Angeles, the Federal Railroad Administration has said.

"Too often it takes a catastrophe to get people around here to focus on severe gaps in our laws," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), who wrote the measure.

The bill caps the hours per week that rail crews can work, adds 200 safety inspectors for the Federal Railroad Administration, and requires the installation by 2015 of technology that can put the brakes on a train if it runs a red light or gets off track.

For SEPTA and other local transit agencies, the bill includes a three-year reprieve from the provision that caps the hours railroaders are permitted to work. The transit agencies had argued they would be forced to hire more engineers and conductors, driving up costs.

SEPTA would have needed to hire 75 to 100 more employees, costing $15 million to $30 million, said Jeanne Neese, SEPTA legislative counsel.

The collision in Los Angeles occurred when a Metrolink commuter train failed to stop at a red light and ended up on the same track as an oncoming freight.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement yesterday noting that the Federal Railroad Administration had been operating under an expired law for 10 years because Congress failed to act. "The 25 tragic deaths suffered earlier this month in Chatsworth, Calif., is proof that the time has come to act again," he said.

The bill also reauthorizes Amtrak for five years and gives the carrier $13 billion.

Amtrak's previous authorization expired in 2002. The carrier's supporters say a new authorization will allow Amtrak to make long-range plans and take advantage of what they say is a growing appetite for passenger rail.