Known as the FAST Act, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act is expected to vastly improve safety for America’s highway, transit and rail travelers and employees in the near future. The first long-term, comprehensive, fully funded transportation bill in a decade, it authorizes some $305 billion in spending over the next five years for improvements. For the rail industry, the FAST ACT includes multiple provisions for passenger rail (including intercity passenger trains and public transit), freight and general railroad operations. 

Here are five ways the FAST Act is will improve safety for American’s passenger rail passengers and employees: 

1. Funding and reform for Amtrak: The FAST Act provides annual funding for Amtrak, starting with $1.45 billion in 2016 and rising to $1.8 billion by 2020.
2. Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grant program: The bill earmarks just over $1.1 billion for this grant program to support a range of initiatives including implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) systems; capital projects to reduce congestion; and projects designed to improve multimodal connections or to facilitate service integration between rail and other transportation modes.
3. Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair grant program: Another $997 million goes to this grant to improve rail assets that are in poor, even dangerous condition because of deferred maintenance.
4. Competitive grants and loans: Some $200 million will be made available via grants and loans to help fast-track implementation of PTC technology. Rail companies have until the end of 2018 to install PTC systems, with up to two additional years to finalize full implementation and testing.
5. Boost in usage of the RRIF program: The Railroad Rehabilitation Improvement and Financing program will become more flexible, allowing for loans needed to finance needed rail improvements to be approved quicker and with improved transparency.

We here at Rail Justice will continue to monitor just how safety improvements under the FAST Act progress. In the meantime, if you suffer an injury or loss caused by a safety lapse on the part of a rail company or employee, report the incident, get medical treatment and call 888-519-RAIL to speak with a railroad injury attorney today