Deadly Deficit
Back in 2010, the Economist magazine observed that railways in the United States were the mirror image of those in Europe. Instead, May 12’s Amtrak crash in Philadelphia underscored the differences, which extend to safety and maintenance. Much has been said since the accident about a system known as positive train control that, had it been in place on that line in Philadelphia, might have spared eight lives. Having been on the same rails recently, we can attest to deplorable conditions in some urban stations and poorly maintained and apparently unsafe conditions along the tracks.
Locally, it is frightening to think that the Long Island Rail Road is at least two years away from installing positive train control. In light of the wildly over-capacity passenger loads on the Montauk Branch on holiday weekends, with all seats filled and hundreds of people crammed atop their luggage in the aisles, even a derailment at a relatively low speed could result in almost unimaginable chaos. If an accident happened on a remote section of track, local emergency responders and medical facilities could almost instantly be overwhelmed.
Of course, it comes down to money. It would cost at estimated $10 billion to install positive train control on all of the country’s railways. Congress set 2015 as a deadline to do so but came up with only about $250 million toward that goal, according to Newsday. Now, some Washington legislators want to delay implementation until 2020. There is also resistance from freight companies, which would bear much of the cost and whose trains run at speeds that would make the system appear less than essential.
The United States’ infrastructure deficit, unlike the rest of the developed world’s, is not limited to train travel. A ride on any of this region’s highways should dispel any lingering doubt. The American Society of Civil Engineers recently gave the U.S. a cumulative grade of D-plus for its roads, bridges, rails, dams, and other essentials, with an estimated $3.6 trillion as necessary to bring it all up to par. And putting off repairs only adds to the cost, as any homeowner can tell you.
The sooner Congress gets serious about infrastructure the better. Delays are deadly.