Making A Safe Commuter Rail Industry Even Safer
APTA is proud to report that every required commuter railroad is now Positive Train Control (PTC) certified by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and has met the December 31, 2020 implementation deadline. PTC is a complex signaling and communications technology that provides critical safety redundancies to already safe commuter rail services.
Riding commuter rail is 18 times safer than driving an auto, and this monumental achievement of positive train control certification will make commuter rail service even safer.
Twenty-nine commuter rail operators devoted tremendous time and resources to meet the December 31, 2020 deadline set by Congress. Industry-wide implementation of PTC has been a massive undertaking, achieved only through dedication and innovation by these operators along with PTC equipment providers, consultants, and the FRA. Technological systems needed to be developed, customized, and installed to meet the unique operating requirements of each and every rail operator while ensuring that the PTC system was interoperable with other passenger and freight operators that share the tracks with commuter rail operators. Commuter rail operators have invested over $4 billion dollars to implement PTC and will spend hundreds of millions each year in maintenance and operation costs.
