FRA taking ‘proactive approach’ to PTC implementation

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has released a status report detailing progress by major freight and passenger railroads in the federally mandated implementation of positive train control (PTC) systems.   The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) says it is taking a more “proactive approach” to assisting railroads in complying with a congressional mandate to have positive train control (PTC) systems installed on all U.S. freight and passenger railroads by the end of this year.
   U.S. Class I freight railroads had installed PTC on 56 percent of required track as of Dec. 31, 2017, up from 45 percent in the third quarter and just 16 percent at the end of 2016, according to the FRA’s latest PTC implementation status update.
   Passenger lines, on the other hand, have not made as much headway, having installed PTC systems on just 24 percent of required route miles, the same as in the previous quarter.
   PTC is a wireless communication system that can override a conductor to slow or stop a train to prevent an accident. Congress mandated implementation of PTC in 2008 for all U.S. railroads by Dec. 31, 2015.
   When railroads realized they would fail to meet the deadline, many threatened to shut down entirely rather than be subject to steep fines and increased liability, prompting lawmakers to extend the deadline in order to avoid a potential shutdown of major cargo and passenger services. Supporters of the system claim it will drastically improve railroad safety, but railways have complained that PTC, which relies on GPS, wireless radio and computers, is complicated and expensive to install.
   The deadline extension to 2018 included a provision under which railroads could petition the FRA for an extra two years to implement the intricate system.
   The FRA in March 2016 began requiring railroads to submit quarterly reports to the administration on their progress, including track segments completed, employees trained, radio towers installed, route miles in PTC operation and other key implementation data.
   Between Jan. 2 and Feb. 14, 2018, administration officials hosted face-to-face meetings with executives from each of the 41 railroads subject to the statutory PTC mandate with the goal of evaluating each railroad’s progress and learning what each needed in order to either meet the December deadline or meet the statutory criteria necessary to qualify for an alternative schedule.
   As a result of those meetings, the FRA has begun discussions with PTC suppliers to “learn more about their capacity to meet the high demands for railroads’ implementation of PTC systems in a timely manner.”
   In addition, the administration announced yesterday it would be accepting public comments through May 7 on the future of automation in the railroad industry, as well as how to best support railroads’ development and implementation of new and emerging technologies in automation that could bring safety improvements or increased efficiencies.
   “It is the railroads’ responsibility to meet the congressionally mandated PTC requirements,” FRA Administrator Ronald L. Batory said in a statement. “The FRA is committed to doing its part to ensure railroads and suppliers are working together to implement PTC systems.”