FRA reports strong Q1 Positive Train Control implementation progress

Earlier this week, the United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued data for first quarter 2019 Positive Train Control (PTC) implementation.

The FRA said that based upon railroad’s First Quarter 2019 PTC progress reports submitted to FRA by April 30, railroads required to implement PTC are making significant process toward full implementation on required main lines. That is made clear with PTC systems now in operation on almost 48,050 of 58,000 route miles, or nearly 83%, subject to mandated PTC implementation, marking a 3% gain over the fourth quarter of 2018.

“We will maintain our laser-like focus on this rail technology initiative, and FRA will continue allocating and leveraging all necessary resources to support the swift implementation of PTC,” said FRA Administrator Ronald L. Batory in a statement.

Railroads are required by law to have PTC installed by December 31, 2020, 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 has made significant inroads based on various metrics, including: locomotives fully equipped and operable; track segments completed; training completed; PTC safety plan; route miles governed by PTC; and interoperability.

In that same order below is FRA’s PTC update for Class I railroads for the first quarter of 2019:

• BNSF, 100% of locomotives fully equipped and interoperable, 100% of track segments completed, 100% of training completed; PTC safety plan conditionally approved; 100% of route miles governed by PTC; and 33% interoperability;
• CN, 100% of locomotives fully equipped and interoperable, 100% of track segments completed, 100% of training completed; PTC safety plan submitted; 73% of route miles governed by PTC; and 0% interoperability;
• CP, 100% of locomotives fully equipped and interoperable, 100% of track segments completed, 93% of training completed; PTC safety plan conditionally approved; 76% of route miles governed by PTC; and 0% interoperability;
• CSX, 100% of locomotives fully equipped and interoperable, 96% of track segments completed, 100% of training completed; PTC safety plan conditionally approved; 96% of route miles governed by PTC; and 24% interoperability;
• Kansas City Southern, 100% of locomotives fully equipped and interoperable, 100% of track segments completed, 100% of training completed; PTC safety plan conditionally approved; 100% of route miles governed by PTC; and 0% interoperability;
• Norfolk Southern, 100% of locomotives fully equipped and interoperable, 100% of track segments completed, 100% of training completed; PTC safety plan conditionally approved; 79% of route miles governed by PTC; and 0% interoperability; and
• Union Pacific, 100% of locomotives fully equipped and interoperable, 100% of track segments completed, 100% of training completed; PTC safety plan conditionally approved; 80% of route miles governed by PTC; and 23% interoperability

Prior to recent quarters, the pace of PTC implementation had been largely viewed as “uneven” from freight railroad stakeholders both before the original December 31, 2015 deadline and its December 31, 2018 deadline, which was subsequently moved to December 31, 2010. PTC has been commonly referred to as the “unfunded mandate” in railroad circles. A major concern of freight railroads has been that PTC rules finalized in January 2010 required PTC on sections of tracking where the cost is not justified, according to a March 2011 Wall Street Journal report.

Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and CEO Ian Jefferies said in an interview that it is encouraging to see the progress that has been made in regards to PTC implementation.

“The focus moving forward is making sure we have seamless interoperability between our various carriers in making sure that the system as an entire whole functions in a seamless manner,” he said. “We continue to work on that today and will do so for the next several months to a year. We feel really good about where we are.”

Tony Hatch, president of New York-based ABH Consulting, said in a previous interview that said in an interview that it is unlikely PTC will have an impact on railroad service in the intermediate term.

“In the long term, the goal, which is something Norfolk Southern previously said, is to move this from the unfunded mandate to the backbone of the new digital railroad,” explained Hatch. “At some point, this is going to help by being a better communications device or a real-time communications device. It is something that will help railroads with predictive maintenance, which will help service, as it will reduce failures and will help with visibility and that also improves service. There are all sorts of customer-facing and non customer-facing things where this can be a real help.”

But, he cautioned, that help will not come this quarter, noting it’s on more of a five-year horizon.  

“Hopefully, this is the start of a ‘next-gen’ technology effort by the railroads,” he added. “There are all sorts of various efforts to extend rail franchises to improve their logistics capabilities, as well as to run railroads better. PTC visibility, as I understand it, is going to be a huge part of that. From a maintenance point of view, there are more singles and walks than home runs in terms of drones looking at bridges, better track and car and wheel and locomotive monitoring and predictive maintenance capabilities. PTC will help with its information backbone.”