WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Bob Brady (D., Pa.) plans to call for an audit of rail lines to see which ones have put in place a federally mandated safety system, and which do not, he said Wednesday night.
Rail lines are supposed to have the system, Positive Train Control, in place by the end of this year, but only three out of 50 covered systems are close to complying, Brady said. The federal requirement was put in place in 2008.
"We gave them 7 years," the Philadelphia Congressman said. "If that was done, this train accident would not have happened."
Positive Train Control, which can automatically slow speeding trains and enforce speed restrictions, was expected to be installed on Amtrak routes in the Philadelphia area this year, ahead of the year-end deadline.
Had it been in place in Frankford Junction, it would have prevented Tuesday's accident Robert Sumwalt, a board member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Wednesday.
"I want to call for a public audit on all of them," Brady said after visiting the crash site Wednesday. "I want the public to be able to know."
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