Feds Expect Railroads to Implement PTC by Dec. 31 Deadline

Secaucus Junction
An Amtrak train passes through Secaucus Junction in Secaucus, N.J., in February 2016. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)

The federal government expects railroads to implement positive train control (PTC) systems by the Congressionally mandated Dec. 31 deadline, Transportation  Secretary Elaine L. Chao said in a letter.

Chao recently sent the letter to the nation’s Class I railroads, intercity passenger railroads and state and local transit authorities. In it, she stressed the urgency and importance of safe operations.

“Advancing the implementation of Positive Train Control is among the most important rail safety initiatives on the Department’s agenda,” Chao said. “The FRA leadership has been directed to work with your organization’s leadership to help create an increased level of urgency to underscore the imperative of meeting existing expecta­tions for rolling out this critical rail-safety technology.”

Click here to read the full text of Chao’s letters.

Railfanning Review Podcast

Before you copy and paste this information to your website, please keep in mind this research took a lot of effort. Appreciate it. Learn from it. But do not plagiarize it. Yes, if you think we might be talking to you, we are.