Trump's Trains

The most recent rail road disaster could have possibly been avoided if Congress would do something the American people need in terms of safety. Right now they are pushing as fast as they can on a vote to put in place a disastrous tax bill that will hurt most Americans but is a payback  gift for their rich friends who gave them hefty campaign contributions. Yes, the holiday season is a time to give gifts and be thankful but not in a way that most of us are hurting!The most recent rail road disaster could have possibly been avoided if Congress would do something the American people need in terms of safety. Right now they are pushing as fast as they can on a vote to put in place a disastrous tax bill that will hurt most Americans but is a payback  gift for their rich friends who gave them hefty campaign contributions. Yes, the holiday season is a time to give gifts and be thankful but not in a way that most of us are hurting!The most recent rail road disaster could have possibly been avoided if Congress would do something the American people need in terms of safety. Right now they are pushing as fast as they can on a vote to put in place a disastrous tax bill that will hurt most Americans but is a payback  gift for their rich friends who gave them hefty campaign contributions. Yes, the holiday season is a time to give gifts and be thankful but not in a way that most of us are hurting!

The tax payers paid for safety systems for rail cars to automatically slow down the train if the conductor fails to do so. These safety systems were abandoned or postponed by Congress. Why? There was a disastrous deadly   train   crash in California   back in 2008 that prompted Congress to mandate the safety automatic break system called PTC, Positive Train Control, by 2015 but that year just months after an Amtrak de-railment in Philadelphia,  Congress voted to delay the deadline until 2018. Why? Why delay votes on safety measures to save American lives?

Only about 40% of American trains have PTC installed. People have died as a result of Congresses carelessness. Mark Rosenker was the Chairman  of the National Transportation Safety Board in 2008 where he pleaded with Congress to vote in these systems to be installed on ALL trains and locomotives. Trump does nothing and says nothing on this issue. They don’t care because they know you can’t just close American’s trains and locomotives.

THIS YEAR THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS DELAYED FIVE TIMES THE REQUIREMENT FOR PASSENGER RAILROADS TO DEVELOP A SYSTEMWIDE SAFETY PLAN.

Matthew Lehner was the Federal Railroad Administration spokesman under President Obama who said that the Republican Congress was moving backward instead of forward in securing a safer rail system for the country. Our government can reverse their bad decisions any time they want to. How many train disasters do we need for Congress to care? Congress said they wanted to explore the sleep apnea research first before a vote

Now federal investigators are investigating whether the conductor of the Amtrak train that recently crashed and was derailed was distracted by another person. The train careened over an overpass over a highway and now three people are killed. One hundred people were treated at hospitals and ten have serious injuries. The train was traveling 80 mph in a 35 mph zone. The accident happened in Dupont, Washington. The train derailed as it was approaching a curve at high speed. It jumped the tracks and flew over an embankment.  Eight cars went into all different directions. Amtrak has offered NO explanation as to why the conductor was traveling at more than twice the speed limit. Years ago a local mayor Don Anderson sued to try to make the area safer. He lost the lawsuit. 

Congress needs to put the damn safety system in place in all trains all over the country and stop delaying the vote. American lives are at stake and are in danger for no damn reason.