Amtrak has completed implementing Positive Train Control on all Amtrak-owned or controlled tracks, the company said in a press release on Monday.
The final mile of the project, one mile of slow-speed track in the Chicago terminal, was completed recently, the company said, meaning all 898 route miles were now PTC compliant.
“Completing PTC installation and implementation is a key component of Amtrak’s overarching commitment to the safety performance of intercity passenger rail for our customers, employees, and the communities we serve,” said Amtrak Executive Vice President Chief Safety Officer Steve Predmore. “As leaders in PTC installation, Amtrak is pleased to achieve this milestone, and we will continue to work together with all of our partners to improve safety across the rail network.”
In 2008, Congress passed the Rail Safety Improvement Act that required all Class I railroads’ main lines that transport poison or toxic-by-inhalation hazardous materials and any main rail lines with intercity or commuter rail passenger service to implement Positive Train Control by Dec. 31, 2015. In October 2015, the deadline was extended to 2018, and require Federal Railroad Administration approval for any alternative deadline, no later than Dec. 31, 2020.
PTC uses communication-based and processor-based train control technology to prevent train-to-train collisions, overspeed derailments, incursions into work zone limits and movements of trains through switches in the wrong position.
Amtrak said it would continue to work with its partners, tenant railroads, and others to ensure the system is implemented by the end of the year.