Positive Train Control is the train safety technology at issue here. It isn't ready. The "attempt at crippling the economy" is to shut down instead of operating in violation of the regulation.
The railroad companies claim to have spent billions on implementation but it's not available yet. As the article says, they're not allowed to collaborate or share implementation costs because of trust regulations. Also keep in mind the scale of the deployment. There's hundreds of thousands of cars on the track today, and putting something on each car isn't something that takes an afternoon.
The government can't make it happen by creating a regulation and a deadline.
The railroad companies claim to have spent billions on implementation but it's not available yet. As the article says, they're not allowed to collaborate or share implementation costs because of trust regulations. Also keep in mind the scale of the deployment. There's hundreds of thousands of cars on the track today, and putting something on each car isn't something that takes an afternoon.
The government can't make it happen by creating a regulation and a deadline.
edit: Fixed definition of PTC.