Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief for railwayage.com Effective Aug. 26, 2021, the Federal Railroad Administration is revising regulations governing changes to Positive Train Control (PTC) systems and reporting on PTC system performance. “Recognizing that the railroad industry intends to enhance FRA-certified PTC systems to continue improving rail safety and PTC technology’s reliability and operability […]
Tag: PTC
Railroads Achieve Full Positive Train Control Implementation, FRA Says
Article by ttnews.com The country’s freight and passenger railways are operating with automatic braking system technology, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. The technology, known as positive train control, or PTC, is operational across the 57,536 railroad route miles as required by federal law, the FRA noted Dec. 29. Operators include Class I railroads, as […]
Signaling complicates positive train control
Posted by Steve Sweeney for cs.trains.com Let’s talk about signals. Why do railroads even have them? Why are they different? And what does that mean for positive train control? For starters … signals control trains. You knew that, of course. So let’s state the obvious: A railroad with only one train, like many small shortline or […]
Terminal Railroad Association Of St. Louis Completes Leadership Transition
ST. LOUIS –Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) is embarking on a new chapter under new President Ron Tindall, while the legacy of predecessor Mike McCarthy will have a lasting impact on the organization and the bi-state St. Louis region. TRRA Chief Legal Officer and Director of Corporate Affairs Asim Raza stated that McCarthy’s seven […]
US Class I railroads inch toward full positive train control implementation
By Joanna Marsh for freightwaves.com One hundred percent of the tracks owned by the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads have completed the advanced field testing of positive train control (PTC), a federally mandated safety technology that must be implemented on all Class I railroads, Amtrak and certain commuter rail lines by December 31 of this year, […]
How autonomous freight trains powered by artificial intelligence could come to a railroad near you
By Justin Franz Special to The Seattle Times for seattletimes.com Last summer, a 30-car freight train led by three diesel locomotives rumbled down the tracks for 48 miles through the Colorado desert — with nobody at the controls. But this was no runaway train. In fact, the experiment could be a preview of the […]
US Railroad Workers Are Affected by Industry’s New Technology
Railroad communications technology and machine automation have a history of working to improve railroad operations and employees’ job performance. At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI), human-computer interfaces and robots are affecting the railroad industry by replacing some workers. For example, DELAIR is an organization that uses drones to help locate problems on rail routes. The railroad industry […]
FRA updates positive train control readiness
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today released a quarterly status update on railroads’ self-reported progress, as of December 31, 2019, toward fully implementing positive train control (PTC) systems as required by Congress. Based on Fourth Quarter 2019 PTC Progress Reports from the 42 railroads statutorily required to implement the […]
Rail Union Ordered to Bargain on Crew Consist
Written by Frank N. Wilner, Capitol Hill Contributing Editor railwayage.com “IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Defendant SMART-TD (including its divisions, lodges, locals, general committees, and officers) is hereby permanently enjoined from refusing and/or failing to bargain in good faith with each of the Railroads over the November 2019 Crew Consist Proposals in the manner required by […]
Lipinski ‘Proud’ of Endorsement From Railroad Lobbyist
Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) gave the railroad industry multiple benefits as chair of the Railroad Subcommittee before receiving the endorsement of CSX lobbyist Tom Livingston. Anti-choice Democrat Rep. Dan Lipinski (Ill.), one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, has had a hard time winning support from members of his party for his primary against […]