Railroad Passenger Car Waste Retention Systems: A Report to Congress

摘要

Amtrak presently is permitted to dump untreated waste from passenger traintoilets and washing facilities directly onto the track. Older cars (predating Amtrak's formation in 1970) have no capability to retain waste. Recently constructed cars are fitted with either full-retention, or short-term retention systems which dump waste on the track at speeds over 25 mph. This practice is being questioned by several state and local governments, and legislation has been introduced in Congress that would require Amtrak to fit full-waste-retention systems to all cars. As part of this process, Congress has requested that a study be made to identify and evaluate waste disposal technologies suitable for application in future Amtrak passenger cars. The report summarizes the results of the study.