Despite signs of progress, Federal Railroad Administration calls PTC implementation ‘uneven’

Even though the rate of progress being made by railroads in implementing Positive Train Control (PTC) may be viewed as low, things appear to be heading in the right direction.

That was the takeaway in data issued this week by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for railroads third quarter PTC implementation, which FRA described as “uneven.”

According to FRA data, freight railroads now have PTC active on 12 percent of their tracks, which is up from 9 percent in the second quarter, while passenger railroads are up to 23 percent from 22 percent in the first quarter.

“In order to achieve full PTC implementation, everyone has to do their part – railroads must make implementation a priority, and Congress must make funding for commuter railroads a priority,” said FRA Administrator Sarah E. Feinberg in a statement. 

Railroads are required by law to have PTC installed by December 31, 2018, which is past the original deadline of December 31, 2015, which the Association of American Railroads said was arbitrary and unworkable and riddled with technical and legal complexities, as well as railroads and freight rail shippers stressing there would be serious consequences for the nation if the deadline was​​ not extended.

The objective of PTC systems is to prevent train-to-train collisions, overspeed derailments, and incursions into roadway work limits. PTC sends and receives a continuous stream of data transmitted by wireless signals about the location, speed, and direction of trains, according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). PTC systems, added the FRA, utilize advanced technologies including digital radio links, global positioning systems and wayside computer control systems that aid dispatchers and train crews in safely managing train movements.

A mandate for PTC systems was included in House and Senate legislation- The Rail Safety and Improvement Act of 2008. The legislation was passed after a September 12, 2008 collision between a freight train and a commuter train in Los Angeles. PTC has received renewed attention, following a tragic Amrtak accident in the Philadelphia area in 2015. As per the mandate, the December 31, 2015 deadline required freight railroads to install Positive Train Control (PTC) technology on 40 percent of its network.

Based on FRA data, the pace of implementation for PTC among Class I railroads remains a work in progress based on various metrics, including: locomotives equipped, track segments completed, radio towers installed, training completed, route miles in PTC operation; PTC safety plan; and spectrum.

In that same order below is FRA’s PTC update for Class I railroads:

• BNSF, 88 percent of locomotives equipped, 38 percent of track segments completed, 90 percent of radio towers installed; 74 percent of employee training completed; 42 percent of route miles in PTC operation; PTC safety plan is conditionally certified; and spectrum is available;
• Canadian National, 18 percent of locomotives equipped, 8 percent of track segments completed, 65 percent of radio towers installed; 60 percent of employee training completed; 0 percent of route miles in PTC operation; PTC safety plan is not submitted; and spectrum is available;
• Canadian Pacific, 27 percent of locomotives equipped, 4 percent of track segments completed, 70 percent of radio towers installed; 38 percent of employee training completed; 0 percent of route miles in PTC operation; PTC safety plan is sub,itted; and spectrum is available;
• CSX, 37 percent of locomotives equipped, 18 percent of track segments completed, 42 percent of radio towers installed; 95 percent of employee training completed; 25 percent of route miles in PTC operation; PTC safety plan is conditionally certified; and spectrum is available;
• Kansas City Southern, 6 percent of locomotives equipped, 18 percent of track segments completed, 63 percent of radio towers installed; 18 percent of employee training completed; 0 percent of route miles in PTC operation; PTC safety plan is not submitted; and spectrum is available;
• Norfolk Southern, 38 percent of locomotives equipped, 10 percent of track segments completed, 6 percent of radio towers installed; 36 percent of employee training completed; 0 percent of route miles in PTC operation; PTC safety plan is submitted; and spectrum is available; and
• Union Pacific, 0 percent of locomotives equipped, 22 percent of track segments completed, 81 percent of radio towers installed; 14 percent of employee training completed; 0 percent of route miles in PTC operation; PTC safety plan is submitted; and spectrum is available

“The good news with this report is that some of the railroads, particularly Western railroads, seem to be making significant progress in implementing PTC,” said Robert Lauby, Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety and Chief Safety Officer for the FRA at the RailTrends conference hosted by Progressive Railroad magazine and independent rail analyst Tony Hatch earlier this month. “The bad news is that some of the other railroads apart from Amtrak and SEPTA are not making as much progress. We have come a long way with PTC since it became the law of the land in 2008 but we have a long ways to go with two short years until we hit the extended deadline of December 31, 2018. It’s right around the corner and an awful lot of work that has to be done.”

With a new President and Administration coming in, Lauby said that the FRA does not expect its focus on PTC to change, and he expects things to go full speed ahead, because without PTC there are certain situations where a local engineer has to execute everything perfectly every second and hour of every day and cannot have a medical issue, doze off or be distracted, as even the smallest mistake can mean disaster,

Lauby also commended the BNSF PTC team for recently completing its PTC implementation across its Southern TransCon line, a 2,200 mile stretch of railroad that runs from Los Angeles to Chicago.