positive train control or PTC News

Administration Says Railroads Have Met Safety Technology Deadline

The U.S. Transportation Department announced Tuesday that anti-derailment technology positive train control, or PTC, is in operation on all required railroad route miles ahead of a Dec. 31 deadline set by Congress. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has certified that …

Regulator Says U.S. Railroads Still Have Work to Do Installing Key Safety Technology

The railroad industry has installed safety technology on nearly 90% of tracks where it is required, federal officials said Wednesday, but “significant work” is needed to ensure the technology is completely installed by a December 2020 deadline. Federal Railroad Administration …

Firms in Patent Feud Over U.S. Mandated Railroad Safety Technology

Two companies battling for a share of more than $14 billion in mandated safety upgrades on U.S. railroads are set to collide in federal court to resolve a dispute over technology that prevents train accidents. Germany’s Siemens AG accuses U.S. …

‘Public Is Tired of Excuses’ for Delays in Anti-Crash Tech: Republican Chairman

The chair of a congressional committee on Thursday urged U.S. railroads and transit agencies to meet a looming deadline to install an anti-crash technology called positive train control after a series of recent crashes. “I think the American public is …

Wife of Conductor Killed in Deadly S.C. Train Crash Sues Rail Companies for Negligence

The wife of a conductor killed in the crash of an Amtrak train with a parked freight train in South Carolina earlier this month filed suit Thursday against Amtrak and the other rail company, saying they were to blame for …

Railway Signals Turned Off For PTC Installation At Time of South Carolina Crash

Railway signals were out while crews installed a safety system that could have prevented the exact type of crash that killed two people in South Carolina when an Amtrak train was diverted to a side track and slammed head-on into …

Latest Amtrak Crash Highlights Upcoming Rail Safety Deadline

Only about a quarter of U.S. railroad tracks that carry passenger trains have an anti-crash system that safety officials say could have prevented a fatal weekend crash, even though a year-end deadline to finish installing it is just months away. …

Many Railroads Slow to Adopt Safety Technology Even After Deadline Extension

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. The technology, called positive train control or PTC, uses digital …

As Texas Train Wreckage Smolders, BNSF Says Technology May Have Prevented Crash

Wreckage from a train collision continued to smolder on June 29 in the Texas Panhandle as workers prepared to remove the charred, twisted box cars from the tracks and renew their search for three missing crew members. Three BNSF Railway …