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November 18, 2020
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Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad Near Completion of Positive Train Control Rail Safety Enhancement System |
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Railroads Are On Pace to Complete Roll-Out By End of the Year ‘The Finish Line Is in Sight’
The Presidents of the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad today announced that roll-out of Positive Train Control (PTC) is nearly completed at both railroads and is expected to be complete on time by the end of the year, despite the unprecedented and catastrophic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the finances of the railroads’ parent organization, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
MTA Metro-North Railroad
“We remain on schedule to have full Positive Train Control functionality across the railroad by the end of this year,” said Catherine Rinaldi, President of MTA Metro-North Railroad. “I want to give a shout-out to our team for keeping the momentum going through the end 2020, when all trains will be operating with PTC.”
East of the Hudson River, installation of PTC equipment along the wayside is complete and all trains on the Harlem Line, Hudson Line, and Danbury Branch are operating with Positive Train Control. On the New Haven Line and the New Haven Line’s New Canaan Branch, the railroad has completed testing the PTC software for the line’s M8 electric cars and is obtaining the safety certification that will allow M8 trains to enter PTC operations at the end of the month.
The Waterbury Branch in Connecticut is exempt from the federal PTC mandate due to the small number of trains. Nevertheless, the State of Connecticut has opted to have a new cab signal system installed on the Branch to improve overall safety, and PTC will be implemented as an overlay to the new signal system by the end of 2021.
West of the Hudson River, the Pascack Valley Line began PTC operations in September, and the railroad expects the Port Jervis Line to begin PTC operations by early December.
MTA Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road implemented PTC through Jamaica in October and the system is now operating on 98% of the railroad’s 305 route miles. The remaining segment to be implemented is the complex of switches in Sunnyside, Queens, known as Harold Interlocking, where Amtrak and LIRR trains merge to reach Penn Station. All testing required for this location has been completed. The LIRR expects to implement PTC at this location as soon as Amtrak finalizes its PTC in the adjacent rail lines they control.
“The finish line is in sight,” said MTA Long Island Rail Road President Phil Eng. “The work at Harold with Amtrak is progressing and nearing final stages. Amtrak executives and their project team have assured us that this is their highest priority and we continue to support them. Thanks to the dedicated team led by Debbie Chin and their ability to work through COVID, we remain confident that we will be successful and in compliance with the FRA deadline.”
About Positive Train Control
Positive Train Control enhances train safety behind the scenes by reducing the potential for human error to contribute to train-to-train collisions, trains traveling into zones where railroad employees are working on tracks, or derailments caused by a train traveling too fast into a curve or into a misaligned switch.
The system uses a network of computers on board trains and along the tracks that are in communication with a central control hub, sharing data on rail conditions in real time. More information about how Positive Train Control works on the MTA network can be found at the three-minute video at this link:?youtube.com/watch?v=bIX9wWlY_wg
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