We don’t just need rail safety, we deserve it

It was just over a year ago that America suffered the tragic Amtrak derailment at Philadelphia’s Frankford Junction that resulted in the loss of eight lives and injuries to more than 200.

It was a sad day for our entire country.

{mosads}I commend the Amtrak employees and the hundreds of first responders, scores of citizens and health care workers that went into overdrive to first treat the injured at the scene as well as protect the health and safety of those who responded and engaged in the clean-up.

As the former Chairman of Amtrak I came to know the hardworking and caring women and men who dedicate their lives to making train travel safe for millions. It’s a tough job. And I also understand the importance of rail transportation and travel to our country’s economy.

In just the last few weeks we’ve come to know the cause of the tragedy. The National Transportation Safety Board recently announced that the derailment was due to human error, an all too common occurrence in accidents, which according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration contributes to 94 percent of the accidents on our highways. So this cause should not come as a surprise.

Now that we know what happened, we must commit to doing better in preventing devastating derailments like this one. But not solely for train safety, though that is reason enough, but also for the men and women who operate America’s trains. We must improve our investment in rail safety technology that can help reduce human error. We are at a critical time in our rail history, ridership is up, more goods are being transported by rail and the potential for technology to enhance safety is at hand.

Last year, 490 million passenger trips were taken on U.S. commuter rail systems. Twenty-nine commuter rail systems around the country provide nearly two million daily trips during the work week. And New York City’s subway, one of the largest rapid transit systems in the world, is experiencing passenger levels not seen since the 1940s.

Amtrak and other rail systems around the country are rolling out systemic improvements called Positive Train Control (PTC) that use technology to help prevent train accidents before they occur. It’s a large and costly commitment required by law.

As PTC is coming online, what is safe today can become even safer tomorrow. Next-generation safety technology needs to be integrated into these systems – technology which sees more than the human eye – can automatically detect splits in railroad track, or a “hot” defective wheel bearing that could fail and lead to a derailment. Other safety technologies being piloted today can scan railcars and locomotives for structural and metallurgical defects that can otherwise go undetected.

The added dividend from all of this technology is more data – data that can help Amtrak, commuter and freight railroads identify trends that can improve maintenance schedules, swap out track subject to excess wear, and preempt the failures of equipment that can compromise safety. In the end, this would mean safer travel for the millions of Americans who ride rail every year, and as importantly, help for those who dedicate their lives to America’s railroads.

While there is a federal commitment to safety technology, it’s not as strong in rail as it could be. For the first time ever, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed to spend nearly one-fourth of its 2017 budget on autonomous vehicle development to enhance road safety. But the government has yet to take a similarly strong leadership position on rail.

A federal commitment to make a similar investment in rail safety technology is needed and overdue. To honor the victims of the Philadelphia derailment we must step up our shared commitment to invest in the technologies that can prevent future tragedies. The country and the thousands of our fellow Americans who work on the rails, or rely on rails to get to work, need it – and they deserve it.

Thompson was the longest serving Governor of Wisconsin, the former Chairman of Amtrak and the former Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services