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| Dear Members,
Today, I had the opportunity to participate in a roundtable discussion hosted by the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. The discussion focused on new and emerging trends in railroad safety technology, including the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC), wayside detectors and locomotive electronic monitoring to name a few. Being the only representative of rail labor on the panel, I had the opportunity to speak on the importance of maintaining minimum crew sizes as well as the need to invest in Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) Brake Systems on all freight trains. As you may know, ECP brakes slow and stop trains twice as fast as conventional air brake systems and help prevent derailments and collisions. Attached is a copy of my introductory remarks and you can also view the roundtable discussion by clicking the link below. Click HERE to view the T&I Committee Roundtable Discussion on Railroad Technologies. |
| In solidarity, |
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| John Risch National Legislative Director SMART Transportation Division |