Dems push for increasing positive train control funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of Democrats from Illinois are pushing Congress to increase funding for the installation of a system to automate the nation's trains after a deadly Amtrak crash in May, The Hill reported.

Railroads currently have until Dec. 31 to install the positive train control system, which some Democrats have complained is an unfunded mandate, however, and some Republicans had pushed to move it back before the Amtrak crash in May, the report said.

Sen. Dick Durbin and Reps. Mike Quigley and Dan Lipinski, all Democrats, said Monday during an appearance at a station on Chicago's Metra commuter railway that the deadline should be left alone and Congress should boost funding for it, according to The Hill. For the full story, click here.