PATH on track to meet PTC deadline

Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) this month will begin weekend tunnel and station closures to finish installing and testing positive train control (PTC) equipment and software.

The closures will begin May 19 and resume July 7 through October's end. PATH conducted a similar weekend closure program during 2016's second half for the first phase of PTC implementation, which involved equipment and signal installation.

The railroad remains on track to meet the Dec. 31 deadline to install the technology, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) officials said in a press release.

Although PATH's PTC system is expected to be in place on time, as many as two-thirds of the 29 commuter railroads required to implement the technology might miss the deadline, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report from earlier this year.

PTC is a key part of PATH's comprehensive automatic train control system, which is designed to improve safety and boost communication between trains through communications-based train control technology (CBTC).

CBTC continuously calculates and communicates a train's exact position, speed, travel direction and safe braking distance, which enables railroads to run trains more frequently and closer together.

To learn more about CBTC technology, read this feature from Progressive Railroading's February 2017 issue.