REMARKS FOR

JOSEPH H. BOARDMAN

FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATOR

40 ^th ANNIVERSARY

TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY CENTER

PUEBLO , CO

APRIL 16, 2008

On behalf of President Bush and Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, welcome to the 40th anniversary of TTC.  

I also want to recognize and Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administrator Carl Johnson, who we worked very closely with to develop the new rules for tank car design and soon-to-be-announced hazmat routing rules.

It isn’t very often that America ’s railroad leaders get together to spend a day like this, but I hope you’ll go away with a greater understanding and appreciation of the important research that happens here in Pueblo .   And, how this research leads a safer and more efficient railroad system.

I’d like to thank Ed Hamberger and Roy Allen not only for their efforts in putting together this celebration, but also for their stewardship of this great facility.

We often talk about how public/private partnerships are a key to solving many of our nation’s transportation infrastructure problems.    TTC is an early example of a public/private partnership, and by all accounts it’s been a successful partnership.   FRA owns TTC and AAR operates it to the benefit of railroads and manufacturers worldwide, and everyone benefits.

Our mission here is safety.   The entire world looks up to the U.S. in terms of railroad safety, and I know much of this admiration stems from research conducted right here.  

This facility was conceived by Congress in the High Speed Ground Transportation Act as an intermodal research facility.   It covers almost 52 square miles with 48 miles of railroad testing track to enable testing for all categories of freight and passenger roiling stock, vehicle and track components, and safety devices.

Former Transportation Secretary John Volpe dedicated what was then known as the High Speed Ground Test Center in 1971, as its original mission was the development of high speed rail.  

In 1982, FRA entered to the agreement with AAR to operate the facility. And in 1995, the name was changed to Transportation Technology Center , or TTC

Today, it’s very special that we have Secretary Peters with us to see firsthand the birthplace of many of the innovation that have made our railroads safer.   I also believe it shows her dedication to the growth of rail, and to rail safety.   

Besides Secretary Volpe and now Secretary Peters, only two other Transportation Secretarys have visited TTC: Secretary Federico Pena and Secretary Norman Mineta.   Again, we should all take note that her presence here represents the vital part rail plays in our intermodal transportation system.

While we have some impressive demonstrations and an impact test for you today, you’ll see only a fraction of what TTC does to enhance safety.   I can’t underscore enough that the mission of FRA is safety, and through my tenure as Administrator, and with Secretary Peter’s backing and cooperation of the railroads, we are making progress.

When we created the National Rail Safety Action Plan in 2005 we targeted six areas where safety improvements were within reach.   The six areas are Reduce Human Factor Accidents, Address Fatigue, Improve Track Safety, Improve Hazmat Safety and Emergency Response Capability, Strengthen FRA Compliance and Enforcement Program, Further Improve Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety.

I’m happy to report that we have achieved real progress in each of these areas.   The results are borne out in the numbers: accidents are down for each of the past three years, a reduction of 26%.    Human error accidents have declined 29%, and track-caused accidents are down 16%.   And last year, grade crossing incidents fell by 8%.

Many of the technologies that stem from this safety improvement wee developed and tested right here.   For example, our Automated Track Inspection Vehicles were all tested here.   The one you see on display today was tested and approved here to operate at 125 miles per hour.

However, we – as an industry – must not our successes blind us to the safety problems we must tackle today.

Nor can we forget the important role the railroads themselves play in ensuring safety for their employees, their passengers and the communities through which they operate. I remind railroad managers, many of whom are here, that when FRA finds a safety problem, we will take all necessary and appropriate enforcement actions to make certain problems get corrected.

However, FRA’s mission is not to be just a collector of violation fines.   Our mission is to ensure safety.   We’d prefer to see you write checks to improve your infrastructure rather than to pay fines to Uncle Sam.   And, you have made great progress in doing just that.

To close, we have an exciting day ahead of us.   We will even make history.   Today will be the first time ever a Secretary of Transportation has met with the Amtrak Board of Directors and executives of the major railroads.   While it may not have the international appeal of when Nixon met with Mao Tse-tung, it truly is a watershed event in our industry.

I’ll now turn it over to Roy Allen to brief you on today’s activities.  

Thank you.