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Strike positive train control (PTC) and rail worker fatigue from the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) annual “most wanted” safety improvement list. On Tuesday, the board issued its latest list, which dropped the two items that had been mentioned annually since the list’s 1990 inception.

The NTSB removed PTC from the list because the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 was enacted earlier this month. The law requires Class Is and commuter railroads to, within 18 months, develop and submit to the U.S. transportation secretary an implementation plan for installing PTC on most lines by 2015. The plans must address interoperability.

"We are thrilled to see this long-needed technology being mandated and a timeline for its implementation being given," said NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker in a prepared statement “Many lives will be saved as a result of this legislation."

The NTSB also dropped rail worker fatigue because of the new law, which expands the U.S. Department of Transportation's regulatory authority over workers' hours.