OIG to investigate federal PTC funding

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General is conducting an audit to address concerns about oversight of federal funding or financing for positive train control projects and recipients’ use of the funds.    The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) is launching a multi-part audit to address concerns about oversight of federal funding or financing for positive train control (PTC) projects and recipients’ use of the funds, OIG said in a statement.
   A review was requested in May by Sen. John Thune, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
   PTC is a wireless communication system that can prevent an accident by overriding a conductor to slow or stop a train.
   The DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) have provided over $915 million in grants to support railroads’ mandated implementation of PTC systems, but according to the most recent update from the FRA, only 27 percent of freight-rail route miles and 23 percent of passenger-rail route miles had fully operational PTC systems as of the first quarter of 2017, the OIG explained.
   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.
   The initial phase of OIG’s audit will identify railroads that received DOT funding or financing for PTC projects, and details on those projects. The second phase will assess FRA’s and FTA’s oversight of PTC funding allocations and will determine whether recipients used the funds “completely and efficiently,” according to the OIG.
   The OIG plans to begin the audit immediately, Barry DeWeese, assistant inspector general for surface transportation audits, said in a memorandum last Wednesday to FRA and FTA acting administrators.
   An infographic illustrating the PTC implementation status of individual railroads can be found on the FRA’s website.