PUEBLO, Colo. — Senator John Hickenlooper met with officials from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and local elected leaders from Pueblo on Wednesday for a tour of the Transportation Technology Center.
His visit comes as progress on the Railway Safety Act has slowed in the Congress. The legislation was introduced in response to the environmental disaster when a train carrying hazardous materials derailed near East Palestine, Ohio.
It also follows the deadly train derailment along I-25 in northern Pueblo County in October.
WATCH: Deadly train derailment closes I-25
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) initially reported a broken rail just east of I-25 caused the derailment. The force of the falling rail cars from the BNSF coal train caused the bridge to partially collapse onto the northbound lanes interstate.
WATCH: NTSB releases preliminary report on deadly train derailment
Lafollette Henderson, a truck driver from Compton, California was killed. I-25 was closed for multiple days. The final report from the NTSB investigation is not expected for another 1-2 years.
"We're trying to find that balance between the appropriate amount of rules and regulations and make sure that the public can feel absolutely safe when they're on a train," Hickenlooper said. "Trains are one of the safest forms of transportation there is, but it's more important what people feel and think, and that's part of why I'm out here."
The TTC property comprises roughly 33,000 acres northeast of the Pueblo Memorial Airport. Some 50 miles of track cover the property giving companies in the rail industry an ideal place to measure real-world data on their newest designs and improvements.
"We work on safety, reliability and efficiency, automation, connectivity, and the cyber component," explained Ruben Peña, Director of Modernization for the TTC.
One company currently testing a new design at the TTC is Swiss-based Stadler Rail. Their US division will soon deploy the FLIRT H2, a hydrogen fuel-cell passenger train developed for the San Bernardino County Transit Authority (SBCTA.)
Senator Hickenlooper, local and federal officials, and members of the media were given a demonstration ride on the FLIRT H2 around the 13-mile high-speed test track at TTC.
"It's as quiet as any electric vehicle I've been in. It is remarkably efficient," Hickenlooper said.
Martin Ritter, the President and CEO of Stadler US, said the FLIRT H2 set a world record in fuel economy last week. The train operated for more than two days stopping only to swap out the crew. During that time, the train traveled 2,803 kilometers (1,741 miles) before needing to refuel.
Ritter explained the company's FLIRT platform is a very lightweight design for a rail vehicle.
"We worked together with the FRA to adjust standards and that allowed us to take a very efficient train and add a fuel cell element which created basically the world record for the longest ride on a single charge," Ritter said.
He said the FLIRT H2 is the only US-compliant hydrogen train. It features a crash-energy management system created for the US market.
The TTC was created by an act of Congress in 1968. Groundbreaking began in 1971. The facility is owned by the Federal Railroad Administration and operated by prime contractor ENSCO.
Engineers run crash tests on new designs of train cars at the facility's impact wall. They can also learn from salvaged engines and cars provided by the railroads from past derailments.
ENSCO also partners with Ambipar Response which holds regular emergency response training sessions for firefighters and HAZMAT officials from around the globe.
"For over 50 years, this center has played a key role in railway safety with the critical resource and testing that's conducted here to develop standards and regulations that improve rail safety," said ENSCO President Jeff Stevens.
The Railway Safety Act advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee where Hickenlooper serves. It includes an amendment put forward by the senator to increase the emergency response capacity in rural communities.
Hickenlooper says he will continue his work to advance the Railway Safety Act through the full Senate.
"The negotiation has to be around how do we make sure there's sufficient rules and regulation to make sure the public is safe, but at the same time we do that at the lowest possible cost burden for the people actually running the trains."
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