BNSF seeks PTC deadline extension

Berkshire Hathaway-owned railway cites interoperability delays with other railroads.    BNSF Railway announced Wednesday that it had submitted a request to the Department of Transportation for a two-year extension of the positive train control (PTC) deadline.
   PTC is a wireless communication system that can prevent an accident by overriding a conductor to slow or stop a train.
   The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 required PTC implementation across a significant portion of the nation’s rail system by Dec. 31, 2015, but Congress later extended the deadline to Dec. 31, 2018, with the possibility of an additional two-year extension under certain circumstances.
   Although BNSF completed the installation of all mandated PTC infrastructure at the end of 2017 — including 88 required subdivisions covering more than 11,500 route miles on its network — the railway said the extension is required due to interoperability delays with other railroads.
   The Federal Railroad Administration’s current interpretation of the law is that full implementation status cannot be achieved until all non-BNSF trains and/or equipment operating on its PTC-equipped lines are also PTC-compliant. “This interoperability of PTC systems between Class I, commuter and short line rail carriers remains a challenge,” BNSF said.
   “BNSF has successfully demonstrated interoperability with several railroads that operate on its network, including commuter railroads and Amtrak,” BNSF said. “However, not all railroads that operate on BNSF will have completed their PTC installation by the end of 2018.”
   Amtrak had announced Tuesday that it would be implementing PTC over several BNSF-owned subdivisions this week, with full activation on BNSF routes expected by the end of August. Amtrak also said it is on track to achieve installation and operation of PTC across the network that it controls by the year-end deadline.