Washington, D.C. — The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Dina Titus (D-NV), during today’s hearing, titled, “America Builds: The Role of Innovation and Technology in Rail Modernization.”
Video of Titus’ opening statement can be found here.
More information on the hearing can be found here.
Ranking Member Titus:
Thank you for holding this hearing, Mr. Chairman.
As you mentioned, we are here today to discuss rail innovation. In the United States, our innovative spirit is one of our greatest strengths, and we should be harnessing this spirit to improve our transportation networks.
Innovation has transformed both passenger and freight rail operations since the 19th Century. This includes how locomotives are powered, as we have moved from steam to diesel to electric locomotives. Now, Brightline is bringing a zero-emission, all-electric high-speed train to my District in Las Vegas through the Brightline West project. This will create good jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and make it easier for people to travel between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
I am interested in exploring today how we can use emerging technologies to combat cargo theft which costs the U.S. economy between $15 and $30 billion each year. I held a roundtable to explore this issue earlier this year and co-lead a bipartisan bill that would create a federal task force to help address this issue. In addition to improving federal enforcement, technology to help shippers track rail cars and packages in real time could be immensely helpful to combat this growing issue.
Speaking of real-time tracking, I am also very interested in how innovation can make the shipping of hazardous materials safer. Hazardous material runs through the heart of my district in Las Vegas by train. I want to be sure that my constituents and first responders are equipped with the information they need to respond to any incidents involving hazmat.
Any conversation about innovation in the rail industry must include discussions about rail safety. We have a duty to ensure that advancements in technology do not come at the expense of the safety of workers, passengers, and the communities that trains pass through.
That brings me to my next topic: track inspections. ATI technology such as Track Geometry Measurement Systems (TGMS) can play an important role in identifying rail track defaults and keeping passengers safe. These systems were first deployed in the 1970s and have been a useful supplemental tool for inspecting the 140,000 miles of track across the United States. There are not any regulations that prohibit any railroad from using track geometry measurement systems, or any other automated track inspection technology.
ATI should not, however, replace visual, in-person track inspections. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has cautioned against replacing visual track inspections with ATI. This is because ATI cannot look for 17 types of track defects that a human inspector can identify, including broken rails, drainage issues or track obstructions, trespassers, vandalism and washouts.
I sent a letter with Ranking Member Larsen to Secretary Duffy urging the Federal Railroad Administration to not grant a safety waiver request that would allow Class I railroads to reduce visual track safety inspections from twice a week to twice a month. The safety waiver request also asks the FRA to give the largest railroads 72 hours to address defects instead of immediately, as current regulations require. I ask unanimous consent that this letter be included in today’s record.
As this Subcommittee works on surface transportation reauthorization, I look forward to working with Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larsen and Subcommittee Chairman Webster on provisions that support the next generation of rail, with robust and dedicated investment, while upholding and improving rail safety.
Thank you again to Chairman Webster for holding this hearing and to our witnesses for sharing your expertise on these matters.
With that, I yield back.
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