151 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

Chicago Tribune, 1/22:
 

Some Metra trains to be running new safety technology by end of year

 

Metra expects to begin using a new, federally mandated system designed to avoid crashes by the end of the year on its most used line and meet a 2018 congressional deadline on the remainder of its system.

 

SNIP

 

Metra will begin equipping its Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific lines before the rest of the system because the freight lines that share those tracks are responsible for some of the work and ahead of Metra in implementation, spokesman Michael Gillis said.

More here.

[CNJRoss]

AP, 2/3:

Big freight railroads won't meet safety technology deadline

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Three of the biggest freight railroads operating in the U.S. have told the government they won't meet a 2018 deadline to start using safety technology intended to prevent accidents like the deadly derailment of an Amtrak train in Philadelphia last May.

 

Canadian National Railway, CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern say they won't be ready until 2020, according to a list provided to The Associated Press by the Federal Railroad Administration. Four commuter railroads - SunRail in Florida, Metra in Illinois, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and Trinity Railway Express in Texas - also say they'll miss the deadline. (Emphasis added.)

 

Continue here.

[KevinKorell]

Progressive Railroading, 4/11/16:

SEPTA to kick off PTC operations April 18

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) on April 18 will begin revenue service operation of its positive train control (PTC) system on the Warminster commuter-rail route.

This is SEPTA's story.

[CNJRoss]

Metra news release:

 

$3 million Rail Safety Technology grant for PTC

 

(May 19, 2016) – Metra today announced that it has applied for a federal grant to help the railroad fund a $3.7 million disaster recovery system for its Positive Train Control (PTC) safety system.

 

PTC is a federally mandated computerized system that prevents certain types of train-to-train collisions, helps avoid derailments and other accidents caused by excessive speed and increases safety for workers. The system integrates GPS, communications units and a railroad’s centralized dispatching system. Together, these components track trains, convey operating instructions and monitor the crew’s compliance. PTC will automatically stop a train if the system detects that a violation is about to occur.

 

Freight and passenger railroads across the U.S. are currently working to implement PTC systems on their rail lines. PTC is expected to cost Metra more than $350 million to implement. In addition, PTC is expected to add $15 million to $20 million annually to Metra’s operating costs.

 

“Nationally, the cost to carry out the PTC mandate is estimated to exceed $10 billion, including $3.48 billion for commuter railroads,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. “We will continue to look for new revenue sources to help pay for this complex system as we plan for full implementation of PTC by 2019 or sooner.”

 

Metra has so far allocated $187 million in capital funding toward PTC. Metra is counting on additional state and federal funds to provide the remaining funding needed to complete PTC. In addition, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act authorizes $199 million in fiscal year 2017 to assist in financing the installation of PTC.

 

The disaster recovery system would activate automatically if the primary back-office server system fails due to a power failure, natural disaster, routine maintenance or an unforeseen event. Without it, any failure to the primary system controlling Metra’s PTC would severely disrupt rail operations for passenger and freight railroads, forcing trains to operate at greatly reduced speeds throughout the Chicago region.

 

Metra plans to house its disaster recovery system at its Kensington Yard facility on Chicago’s south side. It will run simultaneously with the primary PTC server system and will allow trains to continue operating throughout the Chicago region in the event that the primary server system fails or requires maintenance.  In addition to providing a fail-safe operating capability for PTC technology for Metra’s entire rail system, the project will lay the groundwork for Metra to eventually establish a second, fully redundant dispatching center.

 

The grant is being sought through the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Safety Technology grant program. This program was established through the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 to facilitate the deployment railroad safety technologies. For 2016, the FRA has limited eligible projects to those that implement a PTC system or will otherwise benefit overall PTC system implementation. Under this program, projects receiving grants will have up to 80 percent of costs covered and require a 20 percent local funding match. Metra is requesting $3 million in grant funding and has identified $750,000 in local matching funds for the project.

[CNJRoss]

FRA news release:

 

New Status Update Underscores Need for Continued Positive Train Control Implementation and Funding

 

Updated railroad-by-railroad and industry data on progress toward implementation released

 

WASHINGTON—A status update released today by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) underscores the need for railroads to implement Positive Train Control (PTC) as quickly and safely as possible. The update also highlights the Administration’s repeated calls for Congress to provide more significant funding to assist commuter railroads in implementing PTC.

 

“Positive Train Control should be installed as quickly as possible,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This is lifesaving technology available now, and railroads should continue to aggressively work to beat the deadlines Congress has put in place.”

PTC prevents certain train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into established work zone limits and trains going to the wrong tracks because a switch was left in the wrong position.

 

Today’s status update includes railroad-by-railroad quarterly data as of June 30, 2016, on track segments completed, employees trained, radio towers installed, route miles in PTC operation and other key implementation data. Some of this information is also displayed in infographics below. In March, FRA announced that it intended to require railroads to submit quarterly reports to FRA on their progress toward completing PTC implementation.

 

In 2008, Congress mandated PTC implementation on certain railroad main lines where railroads transport poisonous-by-inhalation hazardous or toxic-by-inhalation hazardous materials or any line where a railroad provides regularly scheduled passenger service. Last October, Congress extended the original deadline from December 31, 2015 to at least December 31, 2018.

 

“The official deadline for Positive Train Control may be years away, but the urgency for railroads to activate it is now. Every day that passes without PTC, we risk adding another preventable accident to a list that is already too long,” said FRA Administrator Sarah E. Feinberg. “FRA will continue to push railroads to stay focused on implementation and urge Congress to fund this life-saving technology.”

 

Earlier this week, FRA awarded nearly $25 million in grants to help railroads complete full PTC implementation. Many of the awards will help railroads achieve interoperability among the different PTC systems that railroads are deploying. This follows DOT’s announcement in July that commuter railroads and states can apply for approximately $199 million in PTC grants.

 

President Obama has consistently made funding and assistance for commuter railroads to implement PTC a priority. In his Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 budget request, the President requested $1.25 billion. This follows requests of $825 million in both FY 2015 and FY 2016.

 

Since 2008, FRA has provided significant assistance to support railroads’ PTC implementation. Those efforts include:

• Approving more than $650 million in grants to passenger railroads, including nearly $400 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funding;
• Issuing a nearly $1 billion loan to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority to implement PTC on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad;
• Building a PTC testbed at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado;
• Working directly with the Federal Communications Commission and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to resolve issues related to spectrum use and improve the approval process for PTC communication towers; and
• Dedicating staff to work on PTC implementation, including establishing a PTC task force.

Read the status update: http://www.fra.dot.gov/eLib/details/L18325#p1_z5_gD

[CNJRoss]

AP, 8/17:
 

Railroads show little progress on key safety technology

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Many commuter and freight railroads have made little progress installing safety technology designed to prevent deadly collisions and derailments despite a mandate from Congress, according to a government report released Wednesday.

 

SNIP

 

The Federal Railroad Administration report shows that while some railroads have made substantial progress, others have yet to equip a single locomotive or track segment with the technology, or install a single radio tower.

 

More here.

[KevinKorell]

Northwest Indiana Times, Munster, IN, 8/20/16:

South Shore on track with rail safety mandate

The South Shore Line is making progress implementing a federally mandated automated safety system, the railroad's general manager said after a government report showed some railroads are lagging.

That story

[CNJRoss]

​Chicago Tribune, 8/17:

 

 

Metra, other railroads warned: Don't delay on high-tech safety system

The federal government on Wednesday warned the nation's railroads, including Chicago's Metra, not to wait until the last minute to install a new high-tech safety system that can prevent crashes and save lives.

The Federal Railroad Administration also urged Congress to provide more funding to help commuter railroads implement the program, known as Positive Train Control. The technology uses GPS, radios, computers and antennas to slow or stop speeding trains, prevent collisions and override human errors.

 

"Positive Train Control should be installed as quickly as possible," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, in a statement provided by the FRA. "This is lifesaving technology available now, and railroads should continue to aggressively work to beat the deadlines Congress has put in place."

 

 

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

NJ.com, 8/17:
 

NJ Transit, PATH on track to automatically curb speeding trains

 

WASHINGTON — Automatic speed control systems should be in place on tracks used by NJ Transit and the PATH by the 2018 deadline, according to a new Federal Railroad Administration report.

 

Officials of both systems said equipment was being installed.

 

The absence of positive train control was blamed by the National Transportation Safety Board for contributing to the May 2015 derailment of an Amtrak train in Philadelphia that killed eight people. 

 

While both passenger and freight railroads were supposed to install such systems by Dec. 31 of last year, Congress voted to extend the deadline to Dec. 18, 2018. It is among the NTSB's most-wanted safety improvements.

 

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

Metra news release:

 

Metra seeks $20.2 million grant for PTC installation on its Milwaukee lines

 

 

(September 27, 2016) - Metra today announced that it has applied for a federal grant to help the railroad fund a $25.2 million program for installation of the Positive Train Control (PTC) safety system on its Milwaukee North and West lines.

 

PTC is a federally mandated computerized system that prevents certain types of train-to-train collisions, helps avoid derailments and other accidents caused by excessive speed and increases safety for workers. The system integrates GPS, communications units and a railroad’s centralized dispatching system. Together, these components track trains, convey operating instructions and monitor the crew’s compliance. PTC will automatically stop a train if the system detects that a violation is about to occur.

 

Freight and passenger railroads across the U.S. are currently working to implement PTC systems on their rail lines. PTC is expected to cost Metra more than $350 million to implement. Once up and running, PTC is expected to add $15 million to $20 million annually to Metra’s operating costs.

 

“The costs of carrying out the PTC mandate are tremendous, especially given Metra’s financial constraints,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. “Grant programs like this one are essential funding sources to help meet our goal to fully implement PTC on Metra-controlled lines by 2019 or sooner.”

 

Metra is applying for the grant under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which authorizes $199 million in fiscal year 2017 to assist railroads in financing the installation of PTC. Under this program, projects receiving grants will have up to 80 percent of costs covered and require a 20 percent local funding match. Metra is requesting $20.2 million in grant funding and has identified $5 million in local matching funds for the project.

 

With the grant funding, Metra plans to help fund installation of PTC on its Milwaukee West Line to Elgin and North line to Fox Lake. There are three independent components that need to be addressed before PTC can be made operable along these lines and the grant will be used to fund these projects. Under the grant application submitted by Metra, all three projects would be completed by fall 2018. They are:

1. Upgrading the existing antiquated signaling system on the 17.5-mile Fox Lake subdivision (Rondout to Fox Lake) on the Milwaukee North Line to one that is compatible with PTC. Project cost: $12.5 million.
2. Reconfiguring and upgrading signals at the Rondout Interlocking between the Libertyville and Lake Forest stations on the Milwaukee North so that they are compatible with PTC. Project cost: $7.5 million.
3. Installing wayside PTC signals on both the Milwaukee West and North lines. Project cost: $5.2 million.

Metra has spent about $95 million and has $208 million under contract toward PTC installation. The agency is counting on additional state and federal funds to provide the remaining funding needed to complete this project.