Comment from Anonymous

My name is anonymous, and my classmates and I are writing a response to the petitions that the rail companies have given in opposition of the current FRA mandate to regulate every two years. We feel very strongly that safety standards regarding trains and rail transport is vital and essential to the American public and their wishes. However, we believe that modern technology, mixed with reliability, can streamline some of the safety tests that are required of rail companies. This is why we believe that the testing period should be extended from every 2 years to every 4 years. By allowing a four-year testing period, this creates a more balanced effort to increase the safety that rail companies are required to maintain. By implementing this increase rail companies will be able to remove redundant safety tests and spend more time in areas where safety is not a main focus. We feel that the rail companies will have extra time and revenue to focus on the other parts of operation that can increase the benefits for everyday Americans. Something that we can do to make sure that the rail companies maintain their safety standards, while increasing this window is requiring them to maintain detailed logs of any errors or mishaps that occur in day to day operations. By creating this internal audit procedure they will be more efficient. Clear metrics can also be established to make sure companies are keeping a certain benchmark. We also believe that increasing the period from 2 to 4 years, will allow technicians to spend more time completing vital maintenance on the rail equipment. Ultimately all of these will lead to increased rail safety for every rail company in the United States. Thank you so much for your time and consideration.