U.S. railroads warn of system disruptions over safety deadline

By David Morgan
WASHINGTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Major U.S. and Canadian
railroads stepped up pressure on Congress to extend a Dec. 31
deadline for new safety technology on Wednesday, warning that
failure to act would lead to crippling disruptions across the
national freight and passenger rail system.
In separate Sept. 9-dated letters sent to the Senate
Commerce Committee, BNSF Railway Co BRKa.N , Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC)
Corp NSC.N and Canadian Pacific Railway Co CPCPR.UL said
service disruptions could affect shippers across a number of
industries as well as passenger and commuter rail service to
major cities from Seattle to Washington, D.C.
At issue is a congressionally mandated deadline for
railroads to implement positive train control, or PTC, an
advanced safety technology that can prevent major accidents.
A six-year transportation bill approved by the Senate last
month would allow the Obama administration to extend the
deadline for up to three years. But the Senate measure is not
expected to be taken up by the House of Representatives.
The three railroads have concluded they will not meet the
deadline and may have to suspend service from Jan. 1 to avoid
liabilities for operating outside federal law.
"The consequences for the economy and for our company would
be substantial," BNSF President and Chief Executive Officer Carl
Ice said in his letter, which was sent to four Republican and
Democratic committee members as well as U.S. Transportation
Secretary Anthony Foxx and regulators.
BNSF, which is owned by billionaire investor Warren
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) BRKa.N , needs to deploy PTC on
about half its system, accounting for 80 percent of volume, Ice
said.
Canadian Pacific and BNSF said they will have to begin
notifying customers about their plans in the near future. BNSF
said it is preparing notices to stakeholders including commuter
services in Chicago, Seattle and Minnesota in the event that no
extension is enacted by Oct. 31.
Norfolk Southern is considering "taking legal action to
invalidate the deadline as a violation of due process," the
company's president and chief executive, James Squires, wrote.
Canadian Pacific's president and chief operating officer,
Keith Creel, predicted congestion at "critical rail hubs"
affecting service across the network if major lines are forced
to shut down, prompting railroads and shippers to find alternate
routes to move freight.