Cap Metro inks $66 million PTC contract

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Cap Metro) in Austin, Texas, on Monday approved a $65.7 million contract with Modern Railway Systems Inc. to design, build and commission a positive train control (PTC) system for the Red Line commuter-rail route.

Under the contract, Modern Railway Systems will complete the work within 15 months, which will make Cap Metro eligible to apply for a two-year extension to the December 2018 deadline to implement PTC, agency officials said in a press release.

A federal grant will cover $12.8 million of the project's costs. Cap Metro earlier this summer received a $9.76 million grant to install PTC.

The grant was one of several awarded to help commuter and intercity passenger railroads meet the Dec. 31, 2018, deadline to implement the technology.