Don't let railroads slide on safety

The Federal Railroad Administration just announced what many safety advocates feared. Only a handful of the nation's railroads will meet their end-of-year deadline to install positive train control, or PTC, technology, which are safety systems proven to prevent train crashes and derailments.

Metra is among those who will miss the deadline, putting 260,000 passengers who ride Metra trains each day one human error away from an accident.

This is unconscionable. Now, the railroads are lobbying Congress to extend the deadline until 2020. Congress must say no.

Now more than ever, we need this fail-safe technology. As a nation, we need to do everything we can to make it happen ASAP. No more excuses, no more extended delays.

Congress must take a tough line. Each year installation is delayed, the risk to rail passengers needlessly increases. The National Transportation Safety Board says PTC would have prevented train accidents that killed 300 people and injured more than 7,000, including two Metra accidents where two people were killed and more than 100 injured.

The railroad industry has a long and questionable track record of resisting safety measures. They need to face tough fines and penalties until they comply. Otherwise, they will continue to stall.

Some like Metra may have legitimate financial issues holding them back. Our local, state and federal elected officials must help with funding so cash-strapped commuter railroads can install PTC as soon as possible.

This technology has been around for 20 years. The United States has the worst railroad safety record in the developed world because of our failure to get tough with railroads and put safety first.

Timothy J. Cavanagh

Chicago