The nation’s commuter rail systems have successfully met the Congressional milestone deadlines for 2018 Positive Train Control (PTC) installation, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).
The completed milestones are acquiring all necessary equipment for PTC implementation, installing all PTC hardware, completing all employee training, equipment testing and submitting a revised plan and alternative schedule to the Secretary of Transportation for implementing a PTC system.
“Installing and implementing PTC is an unparalleled technical challenge in scale, complexity and time required,” APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas said. “The commuter railroad industry has made extraordinary efforts to meet the 2018 deadline and will continue their focus and hard work to complete full implementation before or by December 2020.”
Full implementation will cost commuter railroads approximately more than $4 billion, excluding up to $130 million in future annual operating and maintenance costs.
The industry has faced numerous challenges regarding the installation of PTC systems including securing adequate access to track, a limited number of PTC-qualified vendors, diagnosing and resolving software issues and finding locomotives for installation and testing.
The largest challenge will be ensuring PTC systems work seamlessly for freight and passenger railroads. This will need to be resolved through communication between railroads.