FRA Awards $25M in Grants for Positive Train Control Implementation
Source: Mass Transit magazine
FRA Awards $25M in Grants for Positive Train Control Implementation
Source: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Aug 17, 2016
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) awarded, on August 16, $25 million in grants for 11 projects in six states and the District of Columbia to assist in implementing Positive Train Control (PTC). FRA received 30 eligible applications requesting $90.6 million, nearly four times the $25 million Congress provided in the appropriations bill that funds FRA for Fiscal Year 2016. Many awards will help railroads achieve interoperability among the different PTC systems that railroads are deploying.
“These grants get us a bit closer to implementing Positive Train Control – a long overdue technology that prevents accidents and saves lives,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We will continue to do everything in our power to help railroads install this technology. We encourage Congress to fully fund the President’s request for significant funds to help more railroads activate PTC.”
PTC systems are designed to prevent certain train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into established work zone limits, and trains going to the wrong tracks due to improper switching.
“Every dollar we invest in implementing Positive Train Control as quickly as possible is money well spent because ultimately it means fewer accidents and fewer fatalities,” said FRA Administrator Sarah E. Feinberg. “Today’s grants inch us closer to a safer rail network with PTC.”
Read more: http://www.masstransitmag.com/press_release/12245897/fra-awards-25m-in-grants-for-positive-train-control-implementation
By Mary Wisniewski
mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com
http://twitter.com/marywizchicago
Chicago Tribune
August 17, 2016, 4:03 PM
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.
By Joan Lowy | AP
August 17 at 1:52 PM
WASHINGTON — 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.
The technology, called positive train control or PTC, uses digital radio communications, GPS and signals alongside tracks to monitor train positions. It can automatically stop or slow trains to prevent them from disobeying signals, derailing due to excessive speed, colliding with another train or entering track that is off-limits.
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.
Congress passed a law in 2008 giving railroads seven years to put the technology in place, and last year extended that deadline for three more years after railroads said they were unable to meet the first deadline. The law extending the deadline to Dec. 31, 2018, also allows the railroad administration to grant additional extensions for two more years to railroads that have installed PTC but are still testing the systems.
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