Schumer urges Metro-North to fast-track PTC

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) last week called on MTA Metro-North Railroad to speed up its positive train control (PTC) implementation after a Federal Railroad Administration letter cast doubt on the railroad's ability to meet the Dec. 31 deadline to install the technology.

In a letter obtained by The Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News, FRA Administrator Ron Batory noted that Metro-North had installed 63 percent of the hardware needed for its PTC system. Batory also expressed concern about Metro-North's progress toward fully implementing PTC.

Although railroads can apply for a two-year extension to roll out PTC, Metro-North would not meet the necessary criteria for an extension, The Poughkeepsie Journal reported, citing Batory's letter.

After the newspaper published the story about the FRA letter, Schumer said the railroad's pace of progress is "simply unacceptable." He also urged Metro-North leaders to have an "all-hands-on-deck" approach to implementing PTC.

"Getting PTC installed as soon as possible should be at the top of Metro-North’s priority list," he said in a press release. "The technology is available and the money for installation is in place, including via a billion dollar federal loan I supported, so there's simply no reason for Metro-North not to meet the positive train control deadline."

Earlier this year, a U.S. Government Accountability Office report stated that as many as two-thirds of the 29 commuter railroads required to implement PTC could miss the federally mandated Dec. 31 deadline.