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WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Amtrak has told U.S. lawmakers
that it will suspend service on its national network in
mid-December unless Congress extends a Dec. 31 deadline for
implementing advanced safety technology, according to an Oct. 5
letter from Amtrak reviewed by Reuters.
The letter, addressed to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman
John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, says service would be
suspended where Amtrak must rely on freight and passenger
railroads that will not meet the deadline for operating the
technology known as positive train control, or PTC.
"A vast majority of our network would be inoperable without
an extension," Amtrak President and Chief Executive Officer
Joseph Boardman said in the letter.
The warning by Amtrak, whose trains carry nearly 85,000
passengers a day, marks the latest effort by the railroad
industry to pressure Congress into granting an extension by
warning of widespread disruption should lawmakers fail to act.
Boardman said service would continue on track that Amtrak
controls, including much of its busy Northeast Corridor between
Washington and Boston. But sections of the corridor will not be
in compliance by Dec. 31, including 56 miles (90 km) of track
between New Rochelle, New York, and New Haven, Connecticut, that
is owned by the regional commuter service Metro North.
Amtrak expects to begin notifying customers of possible
suspensions on Dec. 1.
Boardman said most of Amtrak's 21,000-mile national network
is owned by other railroads.