mr. charles mathias, fcc mr. frank lonegro vice president csx corporation mr. donald orseno come executive director and chief executive officer metro commuter rail and russell kerwin, deputy project manager metrolink. i ask unanimous consent the full statement be included in the record without objection some order. subcommittee request to keep your statement limited to five minutes. without coming to recognize. >> thank you chairman denham from a ranking member defazio members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear to discuss implementation of positive train control in the united states. the ptc technology is arguably the single most important railroad safety development in more than a century. the technology is not new. elements of ptc have existed since the early 20th century. regulators and safety advocate have been calling on the industry to implement some form of ptc for many decades. the ntsb since 1969. the red safety improvement act of two does they require the functionality of positive train control to be implemented by december 3

mr. mathias, you may proceed. >> thank you, mr. chairman danham, and subcommittee member capuano, and members of the committee. thank you for inviting me to testify here today. >> can you pull your microphone closer? >> promoting the safety of life and property through use of wiring, radio communication is the top fcc priority. the fcc helps coordinate spectrum and manage the historic we also manage the preservation and environmental reviews of the polls and antennas used to support positive train control of ptc systems. because the fcc was given no mandate to set aside spectrum for ptc we have been working with the railroad since 2008 to identify spectrum on the secondary market. the fcc has acted swiftly to approve transactions including the freight railroad spectrum nationwide and amtrak in the northeastern corridor and enabling and better testing ptc deployment. to be clear the commission plays , no role in designing or assessing the roll of ptc technology. the railroads are responsible for ptc design and deployment. the countr

mr. mathias my first question. we've heard from testimony in major part of the process is acquiring the spectrum. according to metrolink a process of acquiring spectrum has been trying and prolonged. they purchased the license five years ago and before they can use it -- metrolink is currently leasing spectrum at the rate of $50,000 per year from freight railroads and the approval. everyone wants to know why has it taken five years to approve the use of spectrum and shouldn't we have in light of the recent accidents prevent future accidents should there be an expedited process for approval for projects that deal with their public safety. >> thank you for that good question. i can appreciate your concern. we are very glad that metrolink has been able to negotiate a lease and they will be able to a spectrum necessary to provide this ptc service. we understand their concern and frustration that the spectrum has taken so long to acquire. it has been mired in federal federal litigation as well as a close receiving of th

mr. mathias, you may proceed. >> thank you mr. chairman danham and subcommittee member capuano, and members of the committee. promoting the safety of life and property through use of wiring, radio communication is the top fcc priority. the fcc helps coordinate spectrum and manage the historic presserivation in environmental reviews of the polls and antennas used to support positive train control of ptc systems. because the fcc was given no mandate to set aside spectrum for ptc we have been working with the railroad since 2008 to identify spectrum on the secondary market. the fcc has acted swiftly to approve transactions including the freight railroad spectrum nationwide and amtrak in the northeastern corridor and enabling and better testing ptc employment. the commission plays no role in designing or assessing the roll of ptc technology. the railroads are responsible for ptc design and deployment. the country's freight lead the way for securing ptc. they have acquired nationwide spectrum in the 220-222 mega hertz band. they focuse

mr. mathias we talked a lot about it. even when implemented we need to be able to talk to each other if 9/11 we discovered we couldn't talk to each other. and then katrina still not talking to each other. even though they are implementing something in amtrak is implementing something and you have the local respondents. how come we don't have a dedicated emergency. >> thank you for that question. congress has worked hard and diligently to create an infrastructure for a national interoperable public safety communications has done and i think that it's been addressed in that way and been handled in a separate process. but that is on the way. >> mr. mathias it is not an option. we really need to get it done. thank you. >> i think the gentlelady. i recognize myself for five minutes. appreciate everyone's testimony. mr. lonegro a couple questions about the two people in the cap situation. in our last hearing chairman hart testified having to do necessarily improve safety and he was on a panel with several union members than oth

mr. mathias, good to see. we would dig college together so thank you for being there. i'm interested in the railroads, we've heard from other members can the difficult aspect of your what can we do particularly in a very congested space and that is spectrum space as well as physical space that we should be doing to expedite the safety in the northeast corridor, the most heavily trafficked area in the country? >> thank you and good to see you, too. thank you for your question. we have an increasingly good news is stored in the northeast corridor with regard to spectrum your it's my understanding that currently amtrak has the spectrum it needs to deploy to be relevant for connecticut. in addition we currently have in front of us a proposed transaction that would provide the mta additional spectrum to provide coverage between new york and new haven which would fill a gap in the spectrum coverage and we also understand there's a spectrum that we need so what our job will be to ensure that we are working as quickly as we can more fully engaged the picture those transactions

mr. mathias you had 800 polls but that doesn't count the 11,000 you 11000 you did earlier. you million-dollar cap, it's hard have posted 20000 across the country that have been approved. so we very got two thirds of the locations approved and ready to go. is that right? >> correct. >> thank you for your indulgence. >> safety is my first priority and there's no question. positive train control is enough necessary tool to improve safety. the fact of the safety. the fact of the matter is most railroads will not have the technology installed by december 31, 2015 deadline. today i'm wondering what happens on january 1, 2016 if the deadline remains? today ms. feinberg committed to holding the railroads accountable if they do not meet the deadline including potential fines and restrictions of service. if the deadline is not extended what actions will the railroads likely take? i want to know what's going to happen on january we certainly worry about that. it is it is an untenable situation klaxon your testimony you mentioned concerns with the main rail conference about the ability

mr. charles mathias, and mr. frank lonegro, and russell kerwin. i ask consent the witness' full statement be put in the record. no objection. we will ask you to keep your statements limited to five minutes. ms. feinberg you are recognized with that. >> thank you, charman denham ranking member capuano, and members of the committee, thank you for allowing me to appear before you. ptc is the most important safety development in more than a century. elements of ptc have existed since the early 20th century. regulators and safety advocates have been calling on the rail industly to implement some form of the ptc for decades. the rule is fully implemented by december 21st 2015. ptc is required on lines where hazardous material is transported and required on any railroad where inner city or computer rail passenger service is conducted. following passage of the ptc in 2008, railroads submitted their plans in 2010. these plans laid out a path forward that would allow each railroad to meet the deadline. safety is the federal railroad association top priority