House passes rail data security bills

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed two bipartisan railroad data and information security bills.

One of the bills calls on the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to develop a plan and timeline to implement cybersecurity recommendations from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of the Inspector General.

The recommendations are aimed at improving management and collection of railroad safety data, according to press release issued by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Sponsored by U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), that bill is known as the FRA Safety Data Improvement Act.

The other bill would direct the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to implement an improvement plan for its information security system as recommended by the U.S. Department of Transportation's inspector general. Known as the STB Information and Security Act, that legislation is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-Mich.).

"We've seen numerous incidents recently that we must learn from," said U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), who chairs the Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee. "Better FRA accident reporting and STB cybersecurity measures will make a difference for the safety of our nation's rail system moving forward."

To learn about cybersecurity strategies for short-line railroads, read this feature from Progressive Railroading's April issue.