The latest report from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) touts near-completion of Positive Train Control (PTC) technology among the U.S. commuter rail industry.
PTC is a signaling and communications technology meant to bolster safety for commuter lines through a series of redundancies.
“Safety is a core value for APTA and commuter rail operators. It is a fundamental operating principle and a promise to our riders,” said APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas. “That’s why we are committed to staying at the forefront of rider safety by implementing positive train control and making commuter rail even safer. The commuter rail industry is strongly focused and committed to completing full implementation by December 2020.”
At the end of September, 97 percent of railroads were either PTC certified, actively field testing, or in revenue service demonstration, according to APTA. The latter is a step in PTC implementation whereby railroads collect and validate performance data, supporting data already submitted (or plan to submit) before receiving certification from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
All railroads in the U.S. are required to implement PTC by 2020.
The largest percentage of railroads — 50 percent — were in the midst of revenue service demonstration at the end of the third quarter. Another 37 percent were already PTC certified or actively operating the system. The remaining 13 percent were either in or preparing for field testing.