Feds Urge Railroads to Speed Up Work on Train Controls

U.S. federal transportation officials renewed their call for railroads to implement positive train control (PTC) technologies to reduce the likelihood of certain types of rail accidents ahead of the congressionally mandated deadline of Dec. 31, 2018.

"Every day that passes without PTC, we risk adding another preventable accident to a list that is already too long,” says Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) head Sarah Feinberg.

PTC is a processor-based/communication-based train control system designed to prevent rail accidents, including train-to-train collisions, overspeed derailments, incursion into established work zones and movement through a main line switch in the improper position. PTC systems also provide for interoperability in a manner that allows for equipped locomotives traversing other railroads' PTC-equipped territories to communicate with and respond to their PTC systems.

PTC systems will use digital radio communications, GPS and fixed wayside signal systems to send and receive real-time data about the location, direction and speed of trains. Image source: Wikimedia

To carry out these functions, PTC systems use a combination of digital radio communications, global positioning and fixed wayside signal systems to send and receive a continuous stream of data about the location, direction and speed of trains. Systems process this information to aid dispatchers and train crews manage train movements by automatically applying brakes whenever a train crew fails to properly operate within specified safety parameters.

In 2008, Congress mandated PTC implementation on certain railroad main lines where railroads transport poisonous-by-inhalation or toxic-by-inhalation hazardous materials, and on all lines with regularly scheduled passenger service. FRA estimates that this equals around 70,000 miles of track and involves some 20,000 locomotives. In October 2015, Congress extended the implementation deadline to "at least" the end of calendar year 2018.

In a status report released in mid-August 2016, FRA says it has received seven of the approximately 38 railroad safety plans it must evaluate and approve before it can grant PTC system certification.

FRA says in its status report that "the majority of track segments where PTC will be implemented throughout the U.S. have yet to reach an advanced stage of testing" where a number of operational issues can be identified and resolved.