Cap Metro completes PTC implementation

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Cap Metro) in Austin, Texas, received positive train control (PTC) certification from the Federal Railroad Administration on Aug. 10.

That milestone meant the transit agency completed PTC implementation ahead of the federal Dec. 31 deadline, said Cap Metro spokesperson Mariette Hummel in an email.

The agency installed a PTC system along a 32-mile MetroRail line. An additional layer of safety on the line, the system is designed to enforce travel speeds, maintain temporary speed restrictions, help prevent collisions and protect workers while they’re on track.

In 2017, Cap Metro signed a $65.7 million contract with Modern Railway Systems Inc. to design, build and commission the PTC system for the Red Line commuter-rail route.

For more information on several other commuter railroads’ efforts to implement PTC by the federal deadline, read this feature from Progressive Railroading’s June issue.