TEX Rail line to be equipped with PTC

The proposed TEX Rail commuter line between downtown Fort Worth and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport will be among the first rail lines in Texas to be equipped with positive train control (PTC), according to a report in the Fort-Worth Star Telegram.

Scheduled to open in 2018, the 27-mile commuter-rail line will feature a train control system that includes PTC technology, TEX Rail Vice President Bob Baulsir told the Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition last week, according to the report.

The Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T), which is building the TEX Rail line, is in the final design phase of the $1 billion project.

The line has received Federal Transit Administration approval to enter the engineering phase and is expected to receive a full funding grant agreement in first-quarter 2016, according to information The T recently provided to Progressive Railroading.

The TEX Rail project will involve the construction of 10 stations, infrastructure improvements, track upgrades, and the addition of new track and a passing siding.