looking at the role it played in selma before and after the battle for civil rights. >> anyone who goes over this bridge, they see these names. they come together. you have a modern ridge -- bridge. >> watch c-span store of selma, alabama saturday on c-span 2. working with our cable affiliates as we explore america. up next, the administrator of the federal railroad administration testifies about rail safety around the country. they discuss measures to improve commercial and freight rail line safety and the progress made in the deployment of positive train control, an automated system to stop trains of certain dangers are detected. this is about 90 minutes.

the hearing will come to order. good afternoon. let me begin by apologizing to our witnesses. we are in the midst of two roll call votes. i cast the first one.

the ranking member, senator jack reed, is voting right now. we are going to try to keep switching back and forth. obviously these votes were not scheduled at the time we scheduled this hearing. that is the way the senate is, but we are going to proceed. today, our subcommittee is holding an oversight hearing on the department of transportation's rail safety program. i am very pleased that i will be joined by senator jack reed, the subcommittees valuable ranking member. i also want to welcome our panel of distinguished witnesses. we are joined today by ronald batory, the administrator of the federal railroad administration. stephen gardner, the vice president and chief commercial officer of amtrak. patricia quinn, the executive

director of the northern new england passenger rail authority. and arthur leahy, the ceo of metropolitan commuter rail in southern california. the issue of railroad safety has received heightened attention recently, due to several disturbing accidents. last december, and amtrak train derailed in dupont, washington, killing three people and injuring 60 on the inaugural run of a new line. the engineer was speeding on a curved track. nearly 50 miles per hour above the speed limit. in january, closer to home, members of congress were involved in a highway railroad grade crossing crash. witnesses report that a truck entered the crossing when the gates were down.

unfortunately, this type of accident occurs all too frequently. in february, another amtrak train collided with a sitting freight train in south carolina, because it was diverted onto a track that had been taken out of service. these three accidents illustrate the variety of challenges we face in improving the safety of our railroads. the rail industry safety record has improved in some areas, with the number of derailments declining by 35% since 2008, despite increasing service levels. last year, however, the number of accidents and incidents actually increased, compared to 2016. among these incidents were several serious collisions that lead to fatalities that in some

cases could've been avoided with the use of proving technologies, such as positive train control or ptc, as well as improvements to the safety culture through better training. i am all too aware of one such incident in quibec, canada in 2013. which resulted in the death of 47 residents. just 30 miles from the maine state border. in 2014, our subcommittee held a hearing on the accident and the transportation of crude oil by rail. as a result, they created the short line safety institute to improve the safety culture in

the industry and mandated the phaseout of old cars that were subject to puncture and leakage upon derailment. our railroads and communities are safer today because of those new approaches. prior to lac-migantic , the horrific incident in california in 2008 which resulted in 25 deaths led congress to mandate ptc for most class i and passenger rail service. ptc technology, while challenging to implement, has demonstrated that it can prevent major crashes and incidents caused by human error. ptc likely would've prevented several recent accidents, such as the one i mentioned in washington state. it is imperative for railroads

to implement the safety system as soon as possible. in fact, congress has mandated that all required railroads implement ptc by december 31 of this year, with an extension until 2020 four railroads that can demonstrate their system is fully functional, but may need additional testing. while most class i freight companies as well as amtrak are on schedule to meet the ptc deadline of december 31, 2018, last month the federal railroad administration released a list of 14 railroads that are at-risk of neither meeting the ptc deadline, nor satisfying the legal criteria to qualify for an extension until december 31 of 2020.

many of the railroads on this list are commuters or other publicly subsidized railroads. amtrak has also recently highlighted several state- supported and long-distance routes that are at-risk of having service curtailed, due to a failure to install ptc foley. for the down easter regional train in maine, it is essential that the massachusetts bay transportation authority foley implement positive train control. the massachusetts authority serves as the host railroad on a very small part of the downeaster route and is responsible for the implementation of ptc on a section of track . fortunately, mbta has med -- has made

progress and is now on pace to meet the deadline by the end of the year, which will allow the downeaster to continue to offer uninterrupted service between maine and boston. representatives of financial costs associated with ptc deployment, our subcommittee has provided funding over the last three years, including up to 593 million in the fiscal year 2018 funding bill. with the ptc deadline just months away, however, it has taken until this week for the department to make funding available to potential applicants. when this funding is awarded, i anticipate that it will focus on both freight and commuter railroads that are most challenged in meeting the deadline. it is important to note that

while ptc is critical to improving rail safety, it cannot prevent all accidents. the amtrak train carrying members of congress struck a truck that should not of been on the railway road grade crossing, an occurrence that is unfortunately far too common. almost 250 people died in similar railway highway rail grade crossing collisions last year and, when combined with trespasser fatalities, they contributed to 96% of all rail related deaths last year. in an effort to address these problems, this committee has provided funding to the department of transportation for an immediate campaign to increase awareness of highway rail grade crossings.

we somehow have to get across the message that you cannot beat the train. by violating the rail crossing. earlier this year, the department launched these efforts and i look forward to hearing from the administrator on how these funds are being used and what metrics will be applied to determine their effectiveness. let me now turn to senator reid for his opening remarks and i apologize for starting before you got here, with the permission of your staff, due to the votes we have ongoing on the floor. >> think you chairman collins, not only for holding this meeting, but also for your extraordinary leadership and your generosity and kindness, so thanks. we are here on a very important topic, which is rail safety, which touches every aspect of american life.

we are also responding, as chairman collins pointed out, several high profile rail accidents over the past months, some of which were positive train control preventable, including accidents in both washington and south carolina. in addition to a dramatic increase in railway crossing deaths. behind the headlines, we have also been tracking disturbing statistics regarding highway railway crossings. in 2016, 816 people died in railway accidents, with 245 of those occurring at railway crossings. both of those numbers are higher than 2016. sadly, a trespassing pedestrian was struck by a train just days ago and amazingly, thankfully

survived. but this is a problem we must address. others, however, have not been as fortunate. this is the second incident in just a year and a half. we recognize that the safety and efficiency of the rail systems are linked to investment and oversight. i am proud of the improvements we were able to make in the 2018 omnibus under senator collins leadership. this committee has increased funding for safety program such as the automatic track inspection program and ptc oversight. in 2018, we provided $592 million with 250 million set aside for ptc implementation. it was also particularly important that we make commuter rail agencies eligible for that funding, as they have the greatest need for public assistance. unfortunately, the fra decided to issue a notice of funding

opportunity for only the minimum set aside for ptc and to hold back more than $340 million of the remaining funding , unnecessarily delaying important safety and infrastructure projects. ptc implementation is an eligible activity for the rest of the funding, also. as our highway rail grade crossing improvements that would save lives. the decision to withhold the majority of the funding will confuse grantees, delay improvements and waste time that could be spent addressing projects that address other safety challenges. i am disappointed by the decision to separate the funds and strongly encourage all of the funding to be awarded quickly to address the issues we face as a nation. we also funded amtrak at the highest level ever in the annual approach -- annual appropriations bill.

there is a $38 billion state of good repair backlog. we funded the program at $250 million, the highest level ever in a single appropriations, as well. both of those programs are critical to updating or replacing infrastructure. unfortunately, i am concerned that this administration has incorrectly labeled these programs and the critical projects they address as local, urban concerns. when you are dealing with 20% of the gross domestic product and one of the manger -- major transportation networks is amtrak, it is not a local, urban concern. these are projects of national significance and this administration has done a disservice for safety all along the coast. the department of transportation must do better as these move closer to

construction. congress has done its part. now the administration needs to get down to work and implement those programs to the railroads and agencies that need them. i look forward to hearing from all of the witnesses about their state of good repair safety challenges as well as best practices and opportunities for improvement on america's rail network. rail safety is an area with broad bipartisan agreement. your ideas and experience will help inform our decisions to make america safer and more efficient. i will speak for myself, we don't want to come together and appropriate significant money for real needs across this country and then see the money sit there, because people will not do their job. thank you. >> think you very much senator reed.

administrator batory, thank you for being here. >> think you chairman collins, ranking member reed. members of the subcommittee. the opportunity to testify today to discuss rail safety is an honor. i come to my position as administrator of the federal railroad administration with 45 years experience in the railroad industry , rising to become the chief operating officer of a significant freight rail carrier in the united states. throughout my career, i have been focused on continually improving safety performance. i bring the same, unwavering perspective to my current position at the fra. railroads implementation of ptc systems is at the top of our agenda. as we approach critical deadlines for railroad implementation of ptc systems,

fra remains committed to working with the railroads to ensure implementation of this important rail safety technology. in a timely manner. while railroads are making progress, most will need to request an alternative schedule that the governing statute allows. under the direction of secretary chao, fra is taking a proactive approach to assist railroads aggressively toward the implementation of ptc systems. in that regard, fra senior leadership met individually with representatives from each of the compliant 41 railroads earlier this year. this was precedent setting, since an enactment of the original statute in 2008. along with the major equipment and technology providers

representing the market, which was also precedent-setting. during the meeting, railroads calmly conveyed ongoing challenges, including three demand and supply issues among a limited number of ptc system vendors. ongoing technical and reliability issues with ptc system hardware and software. last, lack of a cohesive progress in the realm of interoperability from both a host and tenant perspective. today, fra believes 12 railroads are at risk of missing statutory implementation deadlines and failing to qualify for an alternative schedule. this assessment was based on railroads self-reported progress through first quarter of this year.

these ptc systems are in operation over 60% of the required freight railroad. passenger railroads have made less progress, which includes commuter rail as well as intercity rail. to date, less than 25% of the required route miles are in service. 14 railroads have reported complete installation of all hardware necessary for ptc system implementation and another 13 have reported 80% of the required hardware installed. since 2008, the funding provided by this committee has enabled the department to make available over $2.5 billion in grants and loans to assist with ptc implementation.

this amounts to nearly 20% of the $14 billion for the consolidated industry estimates for the implementation of positive train control. i might also add that the majority of the $2.5 billion was directed toward commuter rail. in addition, and a more recent note, $318 million is awaiting award and application. since this administration took office, railroads have made progress with their ptc implementation. from quarter one of 2017 through quarter one of 2018, railroads have increased the total mileage of installed ptc system hardware from 77% to 93%.

this progress has enabled a physical operating growth of ptc, which was very, very important. at the onset of this administration, ptc systems were in operation on approximately 18% of the route miles required to be governed by a ptc system and has now increased to a percentage in excess of 60%, as of march 31 of this year. on the intercity passenger and commuter railroads, it has been a much slower growth rate. this time last year, we were at 24%. this year we are at only 25. this progress in the freight sector, the commitment shown in inner-city passenger and commuter railroad, is a testament to secretary chao's commitment to ensuring our rails are safe.

additionally it is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the men and women serving at fra. although first charged with ptc mandates in october 2008, the progress exhibited over the last few years shows that railroads have prioritized ptc implementation and adhered to secretary chao safety charge of earlier this year, concerning ptc. moving forward, fra will continue to support implementation of ptc technology by utilizing the tools provided by congress and utilizing extensive technical assistance and guidance to railroads and their suppliers. we remain vigilant in harnessing and leveraging all personnel financial and other resources available to help expedite railroad implementation efforts.

we appreciate the subcommittee support for our critical programs and we welcome your continued partnership to advance rail safety. with all that said, i sit here in front of you, i look forward to listening to your concerns and answering your westerns on railroad safety. >> thank you. senator collins has gone to the floor for a vote. when she returns, i will go to the floor for my vote. mister gardner, your testimony please. >> thank you. i appreciate the opportunity to be here this afternoon and the subcommittee setting aside time to focus on railroad safety. i am stephen gardner, i am very proud to be here on behalf of the 20,000 amtrak employees across our network. as you know, this is been a challenging year for amtrak as we faced a series of accidents,

including the two you mentioned in your opening statement. these incidents have weighed heavily and raised concerns internally and externally about the safety of the company and passenger rail, generally. i am here to share with you we are tackling these concerns. amtrak had already begun to implement a number of strategies to improve safety prior to these incidents, we have expanded these efforts and strengthened our policies, training and operations to ensure they reflect the highest degree of safety. leading this effort is our new chief safety officer who was devoting himself to learning from the recent incidents and putting in place new safeguards for our customers and employees. foremost among his duties is to lead the implementation of a safety management system, used by industries like aviation and healthcare. it focuses systematically and cooperatively on identifying risks and instituting mitigations.

adoption of the system follows the ntsb's recommendation that amtrak implement the system and it is consistent with the approach mandated by congress in 2008. we have completed a new safety system policy, implemented our safety initiative and root cause corrective action methodology. we are making good progress to our overall goal of submitting our required safety program to fra for review this fall. a key aspect is the role of technology to mitigate risk and our priority is to achieve ptc implementation across our network. as we said before and in light of the recent incidents, we believe ptc or ptc equivalent levels of safety must be standard for all amtrak routes and that this system will make the entire network safer for passengers, employees and communities.

amtrak is on track for the deadline and we are working with our partners throughout the industry to advance the system on their infrastructure. at present, we believe most of our major partners will have ptc implemented and operational on the routes we use by the 2018 deadline. for the instances where this is not the case, we expect nearly all carriers will qualify for an alternative implementation schedule under law. while a very few others may not make enough progress to qualify for this extension. for those carriers and routes operating under an extension or a fra approved exemption, amtrak is developing strategies for enhancing safety on a route by route basis to be sure that come january 1, we can provide a single level of safety across our network. for example, our safety team is built a risk assessment process

for routes. our goal is to preserve service on these routes by using alternative methods to mitigate known risks, thereby allowing us to ensure that our passengers, your constituents, are safe on those routes, as they would be anywhere else on our system. for those very limited routes where the host may not achieve an alternative schedule or an exemption, amtrak will have to suspend service until such routes come into compliance. finally, we remain working with our tenant railroads as they work to ensure they have sufficiently ptc commissioned rolling stock available by the deadline to operate normal services. before closing, i want to thank the members of the subcommittee and their staff for their tremendous efforts in crafting and passing the appropriations bill. your subcommittee has championed historic investments and passenger rail that will serve as a foundation for a new era. like you, we see the value in

inner-city passenger rail and we hope that as you continue to work on the fy 19 appropriations bill, that it will serve as a new baseline for passenger rail funding. thank you again for the opportunity to appear here today. we are committed to improving safety, improving the services we offer customers and effectively stewarding the funds you offer us. we appreciate the support we have received from the subcommittee and i look forward to answering any questions you have. >> thank you very much for your testimony. ms. quinn, please, thank you. >> good afternoon. thank you. thank you members of the committee, including senator collins for inviting me here today and addressing this important topic. i would also like to join my panel members here in thanking you for passing the fy 18 appropriations bill, in which you demonstrated a strong support for passenger networks.

my name is patricia quinn, i am the executive director of the northern new england passenger rail authority. we are a quasi-government agency formed for the purpose of restoring passenger rail to the state of maine after a 30 year hiatus. those efforts were successful and since 2001, we have worked in partnership with amtrak and our host railroads. just as a background, the downeaster makes five roundtrips a day between portland and boston. we operate over 143 miles of route corridor that is controlled by three host railroads. it runs through three different states and serves 12 communities. we transport about 500,000 people a year, which i am proud of, given the fact that our state has 1.2 million people.

since we started operating, we have transported 7 million people the equivalent of 600 million passenger miles and stimulated a lot of economic development, so it is important to us. in addition to being the director, i also serve on a couple of committees and organizations that i would like to highlight today and that are relevant to this conversation. the state passenger rail coalition and the state amtrak inner-city passenger rail committee. it represents, includes, 21 state agencies which manage 29 amtrak routes. those state-supported routes represent nearly half of amtrak's total ridership. we contribute about $750 million in revenue to amtrak in terms of both passenger revenue and state payments. excuse me. state partners are heavily invested in their routes and we

invest heavily in our routes. that is why we appreciate the partnership in funding. i cannot overstate the importance of a sustained and dedicated funding mechanism to help us plan for investments and actually implement investments. that is my theme today. almost all of the projects we execute and implement have something to do with safety, whether it be a track program, a signal program, capacity improvement, crossings or facilities, each one of these has a positive impact on service and safety. we believe safety is a multifaceted part of everything we do. as it relates to positive train control, this is a very big and important topic. the downeaster is unique, in that part of our route is required to be ptc compliant by

the end of the year and the rest of it isn't. the reason for that is the number of trains that are operated. we offer a 10 trains a day, amtrak does on our behalf, and the threshold is 12 trains. so the portion in maine and new hampshire is exempted from ptc, however the part in the mbta territory is required to be ptc compliant. amtrak is working in partnership with the mbta to make sure all of the pieces are put in place and that there will not be a disruption to service come the first of the year. it seems to be going well and we are hopeful that it is. there are still a lot of unknowns for us. how it will work, once it is implemented, given that part of the route is ptc and part of it isn't. also, what the ongoing costs are going to be, because once it is installed it is going to have to be maintained and i

have been told that could cost millions of dollars and it will probably come back to the customer. we are the customer, so it is a concern for us. i also want to reiterate that just because part of the line we operate on will not be ptc equipped, that doesn't mean it is not safe. pan am and amtrak have a safety record. we worked together continually and invest significantly in projects that contribute to the state of good repair of the railroad on which we work. there are many facets to safety. amtrak has mentioned there was some risk of not operating trains, if it is not equipped with ptc. i am confident that through the mechanism outlined by mister gardner, they will see that the door is open to enhancements, but i think we will find that we will be able to continue to

operate without disruption to the downeaster service. we are also considering a pilot service to rockland, which is a 50 mile branch railroad owned by the state of maine. it is extremely scenic and is also served by route 1, which is extremely congested. but again, looking through a protocol of working at the specific characters of the railroad, i am confident that we can work with amtrak and the state of maine to come up with ways to operate that service safely, as well. i can talk about the safety record we have and the things we do to improve safety and ensure the safety of our passengers. i can't speak much for motorists and pedestrians, which is been talked about today. since 2011, the downeaster is been involved in 18 accidents. 12 of been associated with trespassers, six with grade crossing violations. none of these have been the

fault of the train, but in every circumstance, the headline was train hits pedestrian, train hits car. we need to cast a wide net on this and share responsibility, not just with the railroad, but with communities, law enforcement and motorist to come up with innovative technologies that are multifaceted. to bring things back to local and back to what i was trying to convey, that safety happens at all levels. in my testimony, i highlighted two examples to the commitment to safety that our downeaster crews have. when there are incidents or injuries with crews, they are challenged to find ways to mitigate that, so those types of occurrences don't happen again and injuries don't continue to occur. two specific injuries in which the crewmembers worked with the management and communities to

come up with solutions that are now deployed nationally to make sure there are guards on doors, so people don't get cut, and also improving boarding plates, which improved the safety of the cruise and the boarding passengers. we encourage that leadership and are very proud to be part of that culture. in closing, i want to reiterate the safety as part of everything we do and part of all the projects. we depend on funding for planning and implementing projects and appreciate the flexibility to tailor those investments to the specific needs that are important to specific orders. on behalf of my colleagues, i think you for your engagement and for the tools that help us be successful and safe. thank you and i am happy to answer any questions. >> thank you very much ms. quinn, mister leahy. >> thank you. good afternoon chairman collins and ranking member reed. thank you for having us here today to comment on rail

safety. metrolink is the first railroad in the nation to have operating ptc on all of our host territories. metrolink is a network connecting six counties across seven lines that traverses more than 500 miles of track. i should note we operate on the corridor out west, which is the second busiest amtrak corridor in the country after the northeast corridor. our freeways in southern california are at capacity. our operation is still growing and spreading out. the only way to relieve traffic and congestion is getting cars off the freeway and metrolink does that. our folks take the train to work, rather than driving. we have done a number of things that metrolink over the past few years, because of our goal to have improved safety.

rear facing cameras for example and crash management cars were implemented years ago. our journey into ptc was triggered by a tragedy in 2008. 25 people lost their lives and many more were injured when there was a collision between our train and a freight train. i should note for you, the day of that accident, the board of metrolink, the mayor and others, were at the scene and were there all night long. they saw the horrible consequences and it was that that led to the unyielding objective of southern california to get ptc in place as soon as possible. we have invested $220 million to develop, install, test and certify the ptc system. nearly 83% of the installers have been state or local sources. we've had some federal help from a number of agencies.

we appreciate that, but it has been a great deal of expense on our part to get where we are today. we are 95% compliant on all of our right away with ptc. we are completing interoperability testing with burlington northern and union pacific. we have started testing of interoperability with amtrak. we are very pleased about that. we appreciate that amtrak is committed to getting it done on time with a deadline. i should note, that as was just said, ptc costs don't stop when you begin to run it. you have to test it, maintain it, you have to have training. you have to have all these sorts of things to make sure the system continues to operate safely. i should note for you that we expect our ongoing cost to be about $10 million per year, doing those activities we just mentioned.

i would note for you that in addition to those sorts of accidents, we have had terrible accidents involving automobiles, involving trucks, pedestrians. i should note that we have an increasing number of homeless encampments along our right away and amtrak's right away all through southern california and that enhances the chances of an accident occurring, so it is an issue we are seeking to deal with. metrolink operates and we also work with the freight railroads to get our trains out. we dispatch about 300 trains a day from los angeles. los angeles and long beach, as you know, the busiest port complex in the united states. we have recently been working with the state of california for a system called score, southern california optimized rail expansion, which basically seeks to enhance increased frequency of our trains through the southern california area.

we just received funding of $1.2 billion of state funds to get this done all over southern california, through the six counties i just mentioned. we appreciate the help of this committee and our senators and the department of transportation. we share these unique challenges of trying to run a railroad in corridors that are not fully controlled, but we will keep at it until we do achieve the safety that we all want to have happen. our goal is to bright -- to provide safe, reliable service. madame chairwoman, thank you for including metrolink in this hearing. thank you. >> first of all mister leahy, congratulations to you to making such progress and such an effort in response to the crash that would have been prevented by ptc. i put up a chart of some of the

crashes where lives would've been saved if ptc had been implemented and the effort you have made is truly commendable. >> thank you. >> mister batory, i was alarmed to hear you say today, i think this is accurate, that fewer than 25% of passenger miles are covered by ptc. did i understand you correctly? >> yes chairman, you did understand me correctly. there is a difference in the criteria as for the prerequisites that have to be fulfilled by the railroad industry in satisfying the december 31, 2018 deadline. the class i railroads must have 51% of their compliant route miles up and running by december 31, 2018. also, amtrak must do the same.

amtrak primarily has its ownership other than that in michigan. everywhere else they operate as a tenant. but when you get into the commuter railroads, it is revenue demonstration that must be shown, prior to december 31, 2018. that is any particular line segment that they propose to fra and fra concurs, that segment can be five miles or 25 miles, just to demonstrate that the system works. that gets them past the 2018 deadline, so long as all the equipment is up and running. i should say, up and installed. and running where the revenue demonstration -- >> right, you mentioned that you have done extensive outreach and your staff has, to all of the relevant railroads

and that there were three general issues that came up as obstacles. you mentioned demand and supply. the host tenant issue. the reliability issue in testing. but that doesn't tell us why some, such as mister leahy's railroad, have made so much progress and others have not. since presumably all of them face those challenges that you mentioned in your testimony. could you give us more insight on why there is such a variation among passenger railroads in particular. >> yes. let me, in respect to time, 2008 to 2018, we know that we had another statute that came about in 2015 that superseded,

in part, what was set forth in 2008. what we have found among the 41 to be compliant railroads, is that the majority of the issues resided among the commuter railroads. there are four issues though i would like to bring to light to this committee. the first issue was the development of the technology. the intellectual property associated with that technology. the equipment that needed to be developed and the writing of the legislation, which was first and foremost, so that much of this equipment could be developed properly to fulfill the regulation. that by itself, leading to the 10 year window, of approximately two or three years beyond 2008. another, and it continues to

evolve today as we iron out the wrinkles associated with the evolving technology, because none of this is plug and play equipment. the second item i would like to bring up, and it was very obvious among the commuter railroads and has nothing to do with the quality of leadership, it has to do with the quantity of leadership, insofar as change. over this 10 year period, if you look at these commuter railroads and look at the amount of change in the leadership chairs, both at the board of director level as well as the senior leadership level, there was a considerable amount of change in comparison to what has transpired in other sectors of the railroad industry. leadership, sustained leadership to be committed to the statute is paramount and that is what we have seen among the class one railroad community, as well as commuter agencies such as metrolink,

which are testaments to what i am sharing with you right now. in fact, when we started our face-to-face meetings, we reached out to what we termed the poster children of ptc. metrolink was our first meeting, because we wanted to know the most we could find out about the best, followed by burlington northern santa fe based on what they reported. they too were a model community. there is also an issue concerning money. not that anyone wouldn't accept a check, but there are only two entities of the 41 to be compliant railroads that said they did not have money to fulfill obligations for ptc. one was in new mexico. the other was in northern california. they were both unique circumstances.

we think what is going on right now with the money that is out there from the most recent process as well as the one in the first quarter of this year, we might see a positive resolution to both of them. the last one i want to talk about is the demand capacity issue in the boutique supply industry. it was very interesting, after we sat down again for the first time since the original statute in 2008 with the supply industry, we sat with the 10 leading suppliers. we found out the 10% of the 41 to be compliant railroads engaged the supply industry prior to 2008. it was roughly 47% that engaged the supply industry up to 2014. there was another 40+ percent that had done nothing and way

of engaging the supply industry, until 2014 and 2015. as a result, you had this boutique supply industry trying to provide customized technology to each and every railroad and they really have suffered an avalanche of demand since 2015. >> thank you. senator reed. >> thank you chairman collins. mister batory, we know that the notice for the funding opportunity for the majority of the chrissy funds was completed and ready to go out the door, but yesterday we were disappointed when we found that only the $250 million for ptc was announced. why is that? >> well, let me segregate it. senator reed, this way.

there was 69 million that was announced during the first quarter of this year, which is fiscal year 2017. which will be coming due for consideration and awarding, next month. and then, as of this week, we issued the $250 million that was carved out of the total chrissy, where it was ptc specific. rather than follow a traditional 90 day application., we reduced it to 45 because time is of the essence and there has to be a sense of urgency. so, in addition to that, we have already embarked with the short line association, regional railroad and short line, as well as that of after, where we have asked them to host webinars with their entire membership.

webinars are new to the fra, but this is new where the fra is reached out to the association to get broad dissemination of the monies available for ptc and not only give clarity to that membership of what is available, that their questions with solid answers, and solicit their subscription to this available money. it is very, very important to get this accomplished within a reasonable period of time, because i currently know of 12 at-risk railroads. we have reduced it by 20% since fourth quarter of last year. that need this money for onboard equipment, wayside equipment, and some back office equipment. and insofar is carving out the $250 million from the total chrissy, safety is the utmost priority in all of our lives.

if you know, the corner store and -- the cornerstone, the keystone, it permeates down. when we get into areas of priorities, you have subsets of priorities and ptc is first and foremost. >> could you allocate more than $250 million to ptc? >> there is $318 million days >> could you allocate more in addition to what you allocated? could you? >> chrissy allows you -- >> you could've done the whole thing for ptc if you wanted to. the need i suspect is much greater than $250 million. and yet, you have put that aside. we don't know when it is going to be and we don't know what you are going to do. so if ptc is a critical issue

and safety is the most important issue, why didn't we go ahead and, at least the ptc, put as much money? you could have done it yesterday. you decided that ptc was important, but not important enough to put more than $250 million to it. >> ptc is at the top of our priorities. the amount of applicants we get will determine whether or not the amount of money out there will suffice the need. >> thank you. ms. quinn, how is your railroad doing with ptc? >> only a portion of the corridor that is in the state of massachusetts is required to be ptc compliant. according to my colleagues at amtrak, they believe the mbta is going to be able to meet the deadline without interruption to service. >> what about other railroads

that you operate with in terms of ptc? is there a significant need for money and are they aware that it might be available? >> thank you, senator reed, i think there is clearly room for investment in ptc implementation, primarily across the commuter railroads and smaller railroads. i'm not able to give you an estimate of how much is required, but certainly, chrissy funding provides, as you said, a broad opportunity for safety investment. we have reached out to partners like ms. quinn to look out for opportunities for partnership between the state and amtrak to go after those investments, so we can improve our system. we are anxious to do that as we can. >> this date of repair of the rail, it is a safety concern.

can you give us any examples? there is also, i think, $250 million waiting to be dispersed for that program, is that correct? >> that is correct. >> can you give us some examples of how critical this is for operations? >> absolutely. as you mentioned, senator, there is a backlog of investment needed across the corridor and various parts of the rail network that we serve. the northeast corridor is the most dramatic example of this. state of repair is fundamental to the safe operation of a railroad and reliable operation of the railroad. ultimately it is marketability, so we need to have assets in good condition, because when we don't, we have unplanned disruptions. we have problems that arise that delay trains and pose

safety risks. so getting access to the dollars that you all have appropriate it is going to be very important. i am sure that is a high priority for all of us and we are working, actively, defined partnerships amongst ourselves, the commuter rail's that use the northeast corridor's, so we can go after these funds and put them to good use. >> thank you. >> ms. quinn, you mentioned that you are confident that the massachusetts bay transportation authority will do its part to a board -- its part to avoid any disruption to service. that is good news and my understanding as well. you also mentioned, however, that there are ongoing costs related to the maintenance of the ptc system. is it clear who will be responsible for those ongoing

costs? is that the host railroad or is it the tenant? >> thank you for the question, senator collins. i am actually not sure yet. the agreement we have with the mbta as their contribution to the service is that they don't charge amtrak on our behalf for operating rights or maintenance on the line, but again, given the order of magnitude of the maintenance and operating costs that were mentioned by mister leahy, i think it remains to be seen if that is the case going forward. i also know there will be additional cost, potentially, associated with pan am, who has to equip their locomotives. there is also a tie-in to the back office, they dispatch part of the line. with the hyperfocus on the installation, i don't think we have gotten to the point of really identifying what specifically the cost are. also, also other impacts like

resources. we are not a class one railroad, we are a regional railroad. we have a number of projects, many of them in a state of good repair. we have smaller resources in terms of staffing. the reallocation to focus on ptc has been an opportunity cost for us. so, i think going forward, we have some questions and concerns about the interoperability, the impact on on-time performance. all of these will have some level of cost associated. i am anticipating a bumpy road and a learn as you go situation. we will probably be in a much better place 18 months from now to answer those questions than i am today. >> that is something we will need to keep an eye on. mister gardner, you mentioned that amtrak has committed to improving the safety of all

routes, regardless of the ptc mandate. what specific safety improvements is amtrak contemplating for down east? >> thank you chairman collins. we are looking at really a process, a risk assessment process, that we are applying to all of the routes where we believe a extension will be granted or any of the routes that have exemptions. we started piloting that work. we just completed our first pilot of this process for the ethan allen service in vermont. this allows us to look at all of the different risks that are presented on an individual segment of railroad. on ms. quinn's route, you have a centralized control system in place that creates a series of safety mitigations that are helpful to that route. other routes don't have signal

systems, so we look at each of these instances. come up with a series of operating practices and investments, that we can then seek to apply to the route, so we can maintain the service level, which is absolutely our goal. and do that in a way that is the same level of safety for constituents that we have anywhere across our network. so we will have those analyses overtaken over the spring and summer and by this fall, we will have, i think, conclusion there and we will begin rolling out those mitigations. we appreciate the subcommittees dedication of funds in fiscal year 2018 to fund some of this work. some of it may not cost much in the way of investment, but we will make sure we have appropriate mitigations. >> thank you. senator murray. >> thank you very much. chairman collins, i really appreciate you holding this

hearing today. and ranking member reed. as the chairman mentioned, cascade train 501 derailed as it was crossing an overpass near dupont, washington. that tragic accident killed three passengers and injured 70 people, who were either on the train or in their vehicles on the road below. the images of that wreck were just taunting. we know the ntsb investigation is ongoing. ptc would have prevented this accident. this is, as you know, just the most recent case in which ptc would've prevented deaths and injuries. it leads me to ask today, how we, congress and this administration, can do more and do everything we can to prevent future accidents and make sure

families don't get the phone calls families in my state got. it is critical that ptc is fully implemented by the 2018 deadline, so i am deeply troubled with the federal railroad administration assessment that shows 12 out of the 41 railroads required to implement ptc are at risk of missing the december, 2018 deadline and failing to qualify for an alternative schedule. administrator batory, i believe the administration is committed to achieving full inflammation -- specifically what you are doing to make sure railroads you note that there can be fines for missing the deadlines, but discussions are still ongoing. we are less than seven months away from this deadline. when will fra make a decision so railroads know there will be consequences for failure to meet that deadline?

>> thank you senator. let me address the first part of your statement, which was the accident itself with amtrak train 501. it was a most disheartening experience, that i have shared, since my retirement from the railroad industry, when i saw that devastation. when i started reading and learning more of the facts, that were forthcoming, it was obvious that we had a human failure that day. ptc would have prevented that human failure, because with ptc it would've recognize that permanent speed restriction and

that train would've slowed automatically, had the engineer not done it himself. so, all that said, ptc would have prevented it. as far as what we are doing today and what we have done thus far with the railroads, in trying to move the needle among all 41 railroads, including the 12 we just identified that are at risk. in addition to the face-to-face meetings, we are now embarking next week on having individual, lengthy conference calls that eliminate the travel, with each of the 12 railroads, their leadership, to find out exactly what has been accomplished since their first quarter report, what needs to be accomplished in order to

satisfy the prerequisites, so we can ascertain what we can do to help foster and facilitate a successful resolve to their attempt at fulfilling their statutory prerequisite. we can do the work for them, but we can certainly give support, insight and suggestion. we intend to continue during third quarter and fourth quarter, after those calls are completed, to meet with those railroads individually. face-to-face. not less than once a month. you might ask yourself what is going on during the rest of the month? there is tactical dialogue going on every day among our staff in washington and the railroad inspectors we have in the signal corps across the united states. the third item, insofar as violations and associated penalties that come with those

violations, so far the fra, recently, for the first time, assessed violations and fines. those violations that we assessed and associated fines were not at the maximum amount. what i have advocated to the secretary and the office of the secretary staff, as well as fra, going forward we should do nothing less than the maximum. ptc is never going to end. it is a living system and you have to get people to comply with what the administrative prerequisites are to maintain ptc and once you have that in place, you can then administer and monitor the operation of ptc going forward. it is critical that people do what they are supposed to do, such as safety plans and implementation plans. >> which i have a question about, if you would indulge me,

let me ask mister gardner one question about training. according to the seattle times, the training of the employees is a serious concern. they outlined that employees were concerned that engineers had piled up into a single locomotive car to do the training runs of the group. conductors were low -- were largely kept further back in the train. some did the runs in the dark, after midnight. supervisors were unwilling or unavailable to answer questions about key characteristics on the route. safety starts with training and it clearly was inadequate. what are we doing about that? >> thank you, senator murray. not getting into the specifics of the incident given the ntsb investigation, but i can say we have very significantly reshaped our training efforts and for routes that have

undertaken any kind of change in their characteristics. we've centralized to that training. we have created a very specific process to ensure that we have an adequate review of all of the conditions on new routes or changed routes and that we have a review process to determine exactly the level of training, the number of qualifications and the types of runs that will be made. and we also instituted a process to make sure engineers and conductors who are qualified are then quickly checked to ensure their fluency and competency for the routes. we have significantly changed our approach to ensure we do have one common standard across all of amtrak and a much higher level of standard for qualifications to ensure that every time we operate on a new route, that it is done so with the utmost level of safety. >> i would just ask that the

fra get back to this committee on whether they have reviewed the training programs and what their solutions are to this. >> we will make that request. thank you. senator reed. >> thank you. thank you for being here today. metrolink has been a model for commuter rail in terms of ptc and i can't think of anyone to better ask on the big challenges that you faced that will be instructive to other systems and also the advice you have after going through this process. >> thank you, senator. it was a very difficult process. we started early on, but it was new technology being developed with us, with the contractors. we had to do a great deal of troubleshooting and training and retesting and validating. it took a great deal of time. my recommendation would be that you should start as soon as possible, because you will confront unique challenges.

we share our experiences. we have been involved in the trade association doing that and we continue to do that with anybody who would like to do so. >> a part of getting started to me is being aware that there is federal funding available, i would presume. that is a key factor. that might not be the decisive factor, but without that availability of federal funding, it is very difficult. >> los angeles, we were 80% locally funded. we wish there had been more money available back then, but it was not the case, obviously. you all know that when there is money available to do the things you need to do, you try to get the money. >> i think that is probably true of most any place. ms. quinn, you have experience operating commuter lines. as we all know, your line runs

to boston. >> it is very important. >> it is very important. >> you have worked to share the course of operation. you have been leading discussion for many years about transportation, as you indicated. the administrations budget proposed cuts to amtrak funding and asked for more skin in the game. that is something you think you can do? >> i can speak on behalf of my state colleagues and say we have quite a bit of skin in the game already. states contribute significantly to amtrak. as i stated in my opening statements, they contribute about $750 million a year to the operating expenses. as part of that, states to pay 100% of the third-party costs, so that affects the costs.

we also pay 100% of the route costs that you might think of as avoidable costs. we share significantly, several hundred million dollars a year, to support shared systems that amtrak uses to support its entire network. those include facilities, stations, technology, insurance, marketing support. it is a connected system and it is all taxpayer dollars. states are already constrained in terms of what we contribute. most of our bills have gone up significantly. ours has gone up a couple of million dollars a year. i think we need to look, instead of short funding, continue to work with amtrak to be innovative and increase and improve efficiency. maybe doing some of the things we do on the down easter service, like we have a station ambassador program,

incidentally, our local community support the stations along our routes and that is their contribution. we also own a number of the facilities. i think states are willing to invest, if there is a value, but just creating a void and putting money into it, it would be hard for us back home to justify that to our state level stakeholders. if the state-supported routes subsequently go away, you are going to see not a decrease of amtrak. i know amtrak, they stay that state-supported routes cost about $60 million a year. i respectfully disagree with that and think that we really, based on the factors i said before, contribute significantly to the shared services and i would think if

state-supported routes started to go away, that the balance sheet for the northeast corridor would look a lot different than it does right now. >> thank you. ms. quinn, your last comment is actually a great segue to a question that i have wanted to ask mister gardner. mister gardner, although it is a little bit off the focus of this hearing, i would be remiss if i did not tell you that i have heard from a number of amtrak passengers across the country that have voiced concerns about some of the policy changes at amtrak, that amtrak has embraced in order to generate savings. i certainly understand the need for a business mentality to be brought to amtrak operations and congress has directed amtrak to work to make the entire national network financially more sustainable, but we have also said we want

you to do that without compromising service. so the issue that i most want to bring to your attention is these coalitions of passenger groups that are excluded from the process and what i would like to get from you today is a commitment that you would increase your outreach, to passenger coalitions before making fundamental changes in your operations and roots.

of initiatives that ms. quinn has been i believe to develop and reduce cost and improve performance at the same time. but fundamental to that is our responsibility to engage with the constituencies and with our customers and keep them part of process so we will do that. >> thank you. ms. quinn, my final question has to do with a comment that you made, which i thought was very startling. you said there had been 18 accidents involving the down easter over the years and not a single one of them had been the fault of the train. we have learned a lot in looking at rail safety about the role that is played by cars or passengers ignoring the grade crossings or just

wandering onto the tracks in rural areas. could you talk a little bit more about what we could do to increase the safety of those passenger -- not passenger, but rather trespasser and car and truck violations that are responsible for the vast majority and, in your case, every single one of the accidents? >> yes, and thank you for the question, senator collins. i think that there are some common sense kind of low-tech things that can be implemented. and again the state of good repair funding that's provided will help us all work toward these. first is main taping the crossings. all have different components. road paint, signs in advance, cantilevers, brush cutting. how many times do you drive by

and there are trees that are overgrown and blocking the signs. so making sure that the science that are there are maintained properly. also implementing active warning systems meaning that some only have signs but don't have the gates that come down. fencing is another important opportunity that we could use some moneys to provide fencing so that people don't have access to the right of way and also requiring channelization. it's done in a quiet zone. channelization is putting an island or some barriers so when the two gates come down a car can't do the weave to try to beat the train. and, of course, grade crossing separation is the best, most expensive, and least popular of all the alternatives. i think looking towards higher technology we did partner with the federal railroad administration a couple of years ago on a pilot program which used cameras and speakers to monitor the railroad line, and when trespassers were on, it triggered the -- the cameras

went on. a screen came on in the police department, and the police officers were actually able to speak to the person on the line and tell them to get off, and in a situation, also we're working on a system where if the person couldn't get off the line, they could notify the engineer. so i think there's technology there. they've now escalated that through the use of drones. so i think being able to monitor some technology, maybe to do some research and test some technology looking at drones, to notify the engineer and notify the authorities when somebody is on the line, and then again i don't know what's available in terms of apps or technology related to automobiles, where an automobile would pre-empt it, and if the gates were down a car couldn't go. and people need to pay more attention. another important facet that hasn't been mentioned today but should is concern for mental health, because there's, you know, mental health is really -- there are a lot vine stances

of people who choose to take their lives using a train, which is extremely troubling for all involved. so i think that needs to be part of the conversation as well. so i think more research and looking at these things, maintaining what we have, and exploring new technology that maybe isn't quite as complex or -- as ptc to ensure the rail lines stay safe for the pedestrians, the rail lines, and the crews on board. >> thank you very much. that's very helpful. senator danes. >> thank you, chairman collins. thank you for being here today and talk about the important initiatives. it's a big daily out of montana. we've got a lot of ground out there. maintaining safe and reliable rail service is absolutely critical. with 95% of the world's consumers outside of the united states with montana's number one economic driver beg agriculture, without rail we don't have an ag economy in

montana. it's as simple as that. i'm especially pleased to see the importance amtrak is placing on safety initiatives. as you know the empire builder -- in fact, the empire builder was what my ancestors came out to montana on. they heard the skiing was better out there. they came on the empire builder. it runs nearly 700 miles. it's critically important in not only keeping rural communities connected, but also transporting visitors to glacier park. recently it was announced that two stations, the halber station, will be losing its station. shelby is home to one of amtrak's crew bases. the empire builder is the life blood of many of these rural communities. i'm concerned about the impacts this decision might have on haver as well as shelby. mr. gardner, i understand you came to this decision for

economic reasons. i'm sure they were sound reasons. what specifically can amtrak do to continue to meet the needs of rural montanans, in many cases the elderly who are on fixed incomes who do not have reliable internet access or the understanding of technology necessary to obtain electronic tickets? >> thank you, senator. i understand your concern about these two stations. you're correct that we did -- we've prioritized removing staff from stations which have less than 40 daily on/off's at each station. each one of those station positions costs roughly $100,000. so it's a significant expense. and our aim is to improve, as congress has directed us, improve the economic performance of the national network, while obviously focusing on keeping our service

and serving the communities. >> was 40 kind of the line that you drew? >> we did. we're continuing to look -- >> are there any other stations on the amtrak network with fewer ticket purchases that stiffly ticket agents? >> everything on the long- distance network, there are some instances potential on the state supported part of the network where states are paying for those costs. they've decided to valley. but in general, no, we are de- staffing, or moving staff from these locations. and instead, because of the points you raised, we are using generally two strategies to make sure that we have an adequate presence. one is to hire caretakers where we hire someone to come and open the stay, make sure it's unproper condition, and close it so that it's open and available and in good shape for the period of time that the station is needed. as you know, one train a day, the station is not necessary to be open for extended periods.

or to -- our volunteer host program where we work with communities and mayors and we are able to get staff and station help through volunteers. we have this around communities all over. ms. quinn mentioned in maine the extensive program there. so we are anxious to work and we have been working really with all the communities impacted here to try and create a good footprint, a good presence to serve folks, and, of course, the vast majority of our ticketing is done either by phone or on-line today. >> we've got a generation that is not technically savvy. grandkids, i'm sure, could do it very quickly, but that's not always a solution for them. >> at this stage, passengers can call. they can make a reservation. they don't have to print their ticket. they can get on, and the conductors can look up their name and have their reservation. we're trying to make it as easy as we can so that folks have the ability to show up at a

station. we're also looking at our new ticket platform and kiosks that we can make available that allow customers to come and be able to purchase and print any materials they need right away, and also access customer service through the network. >> i want to pivot on the long- distance service here. it's kind of a relate first question w. the announcement of removing ticket agents we've got a lot of folks back home concerned that this is the first step in limiting or eliminating some of these long- distance services altogether. my staff has heard from numerous groups that there are discussions at amtrak on reducing the empire builder to tri-weekly service. as you know, congress recently reaffirmed its commitment by providing $1.3 billion in the omni bus. for many communities in montana there's no other access. they are a long way from interstate highways, and it creates a significant hardship. mr. gardnerr there plans to

reduce empire builder service and does amtrak remain commit to long-distance rail? >> senator, we do not plan to institute tri-weekly service on the empire builder. obviously we're operating under the fast act authorization. congress authorized our network. any conversations about the broad future of the network i think is best placed in our reauthorization context as we approach the next reauthorization. amtrak is operating all of our long-distance routes. we intend to do that, and we will consider any future changes collectively between the congress and the administration and amtrak as we look at the network ahead. >> thank you. >> i'm out of time. i have one more question but i want to be respectful with everyone's time. >> go right ahead. my constituents, i will just blame you when i'm late for the meeting with them. >> oh my word, let's go faster.

i want to follow up on a discussion i had with the secretary at a hearing. amtrak completed a study. it showed a stop in culbertson montana would generate a net positive impact of $775,000 for amtrak. that's right on the edge of the bakken. you know what's going on with fracking and the energy administration. i worked with the previous administration to secure support. my question does, amtrak remain supportive of adding a stop at culbertson once the infrastructure is in place? >> we do, sir. >> madam chairman, you can go see your constituents in maine. >> seriously, if you have an additional question would you like to ask, go right ahead. >> given the chance, i'll finish with a statement anyway. administrator batory, in your

testimony you mentioned christie grants and huge increases in funding. christie is the most obvious source of funding for culbertson to assist in building the new station necessary for the added stop. just a thought there. i know ranking member reed touched on the notice but i would also like to urge you to get this money out soon so places like culbertson might be able to get moving forward. >> thank you, senator, for that statement. and i will assure you that i will follow up to find out where we are in the process of pursuing the remaining christie funds as we continue to get out the 250 million, plus the 68 million for ptc. >> thank you. appreciate it. >> i'm really finished now. >> thank you very much, senator. i want to thank all of our witnesses for being here today. this is a day where there are many conflicting hearings going

on. but i can assure you that there is great interest in your testimony, and in the issue of rail safety. the hearing record will remain open until next friday, may 25th, 2018. so additional questions may be coming your way in writing. again, my thanks to each and every one of you for your participation, and for helping us gain a better understanding of this important issue. this hearing is now adjourned.

>> join us friday when lawmakers on the house oversight and government reform committee get a progress report on the 2020 census from the acting assistant attorney general for civil rights. you can see that live friday, starting at 9:00 a.m. eastern on our companion network, c-span2. >> this weekend, book tv will have live coverage of the 9th annual gaithersburg book festival in maryland. starting saturday at 10:00 a.m. eastern with talk radio host bill press and his book "from the left, a life in the

crossfire." barbara lipscomb with her book, the neuro scientist who lost her mind. psychiatrists with the addiction solution treating our dependents on opioids and other drugs. former attorney anne marie ackerman, the true story of the german murderer who died defending robert e. lee. and phillip padgett with his book, "advocating overlord." watch live coverage of the ninth annual gaithersburg book festival saturday at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span2's book tv. >> now the house administration committee examines the operations of the u.s. capitol visitors center as it nears its 10th anniversary. members heard from the ceo of visitor services what talked about the center's educational mission, its features, and