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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | August 25, 2015 02:03 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative John Taylor |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Resolution encouraging Congress to raise the liability cap for passenger rail accidents to $500 million. |
| On May 12, 2015, at 9:21 pm eastern standard time, northbound Amtrak passenger train No. 188 derailed at MP 81.62 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The train had seven-cars and one locomotive. The train had just entered the Frankford Junction curve at a speed of 106 mph where the speed is restricted to 50 mph. As the train entered the curve, the engineer applied the emergency brakes. Seconds later, the locomotive and all seven passenger cars derailed. Of the 250 passengers and eight Amtrak employees that were on board, eight passengers were killed and more than 200 others were transported to area hospitals. Damage is estimated by Amtrak in excess of $9.2 million. Currently, Congress sets the limit for liability claims against Amtrak at $250 million. In a similar accident that occurred in 2008 in California, a judge estimated that an additional $64 million would be needed to adequately compensate the victims. As this accident caused more damage and left more people injured, I believe a higher cap is in order. Representative Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) introduced legislation to raise the limit to $500 million to ensure a sufficient amount to pay medical and other expenses in the tragic and fatal Amtrak derailment. This resolution urges Congress to pass Representative Nelson’s legislation to increase the current $200 million liability limit on damage resulting from passenger rail accidents to $500 million. Please join me in co-sponsoring this resolution. |
Introduced as HR514