New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy joined several officials within the railroad industry in that state to celebrate the Federal Railroad Administration’s certification of the NJ TRANSIT’s Positive Train Control (PTC).
The announcement means the state has met the federal deadline for PTC implementation by Dec. 31, 2020. NJ TRANSIT Board Chair and Department of Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin Corbett, Amtrak President Stephen Gardner, Federal Railroad Administrator Ron Batory joined Murphy in the announcement.
“After nearly a decade of neglect and disinvestment under the previous administration, I’m thrilled that NJ TRANSIT’s PTC system will today receive certification from the Federal Railroad Administration,” said Governor Murphy. “Our commitment to meeting this deadline and ensuring the safety of every rider along NJ TRANSIT’s rail network is simply an extension of our overall commitment to delivering the world-class transportation experience that NJ TRANSIT customers deserve. As our post-COVID future takes shape in the months ahead, hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans will again turn to our rail system for their commutes, and NJ TRANSIT will be ready to get them to their destinations more safely than ever.”
The announcement comes after nearly three years of work on the transit system. The first steps to meet the milestone involved installing equipment and infrastructure at the end of 2018 and then working towards full implementation. In January 2018, when Murphy took office, the initial stage of the project was only 12 percent complete.
PTC technology enhances rail safety by monitoring and controlling train movements using global positioning system technology, WiFi, and high band radio transmission. With these technologies, PTC can automatically control train speed and movement, reducing the risk of accidents due to human error.
In 2008, Congress passed the Rail Safety Improvement Act, which required all non-exempt commuter railroads to implement the technology. In 2015, Congress extended the deadline for full implementation to Dec. 31, 2018, but allowed the FRA to extend that deadline to any railroad that requested it to Dec. 31, 2021.
Implementing the new technology required NJ Transit to design, develop, test, retrofit locomotives and cab cars, install 326 miles of wayside equipment, and initiate PTC testing and employee training.
“We could not have been successful without the hard work and dedication of the NJ TRANSIT employees assigned to this project, which was arguably one of the most complex in the country,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin Corbett. “Similar to the December 2018 interim milestone, we did what many thought was impossible. In addition to our employees, I want to thank our contractors (Parsons and Alstom), FRA Administrator Ron Batory and his team for their leadership and support, our partners at Amtrak, MTA, SEPTA, and the many freight railroads – all of whom were critical to our success. Most importantly, I want to thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding over the last two years while we worked tirelessly to complete PTC and deliver a safer commute.”