Union Pacific updates PTC progress report

Union Pacific Railroad is making progress on its plan to implement positive train control (PTC) and will meet all required deadlines for installing the safety technology on its network, the Class I announced yesterday.

"As allowed by federal law," UP will continue to implement, test and refine the technology during 2019 and 2020, company officials said in a press release.

The Class I's required PTC footprint is the largest of North American railroads, encompassing more than 17,000 route miles, about one third of all U.S. PTC miles, UP officials noted.

During the third quarter, the railroad accomplished the following on its PTC implementation plan:
• prepared additional track segments for PTC operations, bringing the total number of track segments to 182 or 100 percent complete, a slight increase from reported segments in UP's August update;
• educated 1,329 additional employees on PTC operations, bringing the total number of employees trained to 26,004, or 98 percent; and
• increased by 393 the number of PTC implemented route miles, bringing the total number of route miles in PTC operation to 11,920 or 70 percent.

Under federal law, freight and passenger railroads have until Dec. 31 to implement PTC or meet certain criteria to qualify for an alternative schedule through 2020.

To learn more about the railroads' PTC plans, read this article in the October issue of Progressive Railroading.