In case you missed it, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper recently visited La Junta, Rocky Ford, and Pueblo to discuss top-of-mind issues in Southern Colorado including rural health care, agriculture, support for veterans, and empowering women-owned small businesses.
In Pueblo, Hickenlooper toured the Transportation Technology Center, the largest railway testing facility in the world, to discuss improvements to railway safety following last year’s train derailment outside of Pueblo. During the tour, Hickenlooper took a ride on North America’s first Hydrogen-powered passenger train and voiced his support for the bipartisan Railway Safety Act.
Check out what they’re saying:
U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper recently visited Pueblo, hosting a few roundtables before he rode a next-generation train.
Hickenlooper and several local leaders rode a hydrogen-powered train that has been tested at the Transportation Technology Center, located northeast of Pueblo Memorial Airport, on April 4.
He said that the project, which is soon going to be sent to California, is part of the “great transition” of addressing climate change.
“We’ve got to do it in the most cost-effective way possible. We’ve got to accelerate our ability to address it, but in so doing, we’ve got to make our economy stronger,” Hickenlooper said. “We’ve got to make our communities better and getting this kind of transit in place, it’s exactly how we do this.”
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 Acthas 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.
…“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.”
Fox 21: Future of railroad safety tested in Pueblo
The deadly train derailment north of Pueblo in 2023 has sparked an initiative to improve railway safety.
On Wednesday, April 4, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper met with officials from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Transportation Safety Administration (TSA), and Pueblo leaders to tour Pueblo’s Transportation Technology Center (TTC). The senator’s tour allowed leaders to discuss improvements to railway safety, including Hickenlooper’s support for the bipartisan Railway Safety Act, and CSU Pueblo’s recent $1 million congressionally directed spending awardto strengthen Colorado’s workforce in transportation research and safety.
Participants toured TTC’s vehicle crash wall, more than 50 miles of railway test track, and took a ride on a hydrogen-powered train.
“It’s as quiet as any electric vehicle I have ever been in,” Sen. Hickenlooper said.
A hydrogen train is a rail vehicle that uses hydrogen as a fuel to generate electricity. Lawmakers are celebrating the new technology and are working to bring it to Colorado.
“I always call it the great transition, where we recognize we have to address climate change,” Sen. Hickenlooper explained. “We’ve got to do it in the most cost-effective way possible. We’ve got to make our communities better, and getting this kind of transit in place is exactly how we do this.”
LISTEN: CPR: Senator Hickenlooper Tours Transportation Technology CenterWATCH: NBC / KOAA Colorado Springs: Hickenlooper visits Pueblo’s Transportation Technology Center, Rides Hydrogen-Powered Passenger Train
WATCH: ABC / KRDO Colorado Springs: Hickenlooper Tours Pueblo’s Transportation Technology Center
WATCH: FOX 21 Colorado Springs: Hickenlooper Tours Pueblo’s Transportation Technology Center
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