U.S. rail industry leaders plan to meet next week with top Obama administration officials to discuss the costs of new regulations facing the railroad industry, including the mandate for crash-avoidance systems on train networks.
James R. Young, chairman, president and CEO at Union Pacific Railroad, disclosed the scheduled meeting during an earnings conference call with analysts today. The White House meeting follows President Obama's order this week for a review of new or pending regulations that may harm jobs growth.
Young and other rail executives have strongly complained about the heavy expense of developing and deploying the positive train control technology, which requires outfitting locomotives with automated braking gear and tie it into trackside warning devices and other remote control systems.
A 2008 law ordered the railroads to deploy PTC by the end of 2015, across nearly the entire rail network, and major railroads are spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year to get it done.
Young repeated his concern that these and other potential regulatory costs could cause him to cut UP's investments in other areas of its system. He said industry officials "are looking forward to the discussion" with the administration over "the impact of regulation on our industry."