ASLRRA convention session sheds light on positive train-control developments

By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor

Next month, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will issue a rulemaking on positive train control (PTC) implementation as mandated by the rail safety law. Shortly afterward, the pace of railroads’ PTC engineering work and safety plan development will pick up, and short lines will gain a better understanding of the regulation’s impact on their operations.

That’s the message four rail industry executives shared during an “ABC’s of PTC” breakout session held April 27 during the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s (ASLRRA) 96th annual convention at Las Vegas’ Red Rock Resort.

The association recently outlined short lines’ PTC issues for the FRA, such as the implications (switches, interlockings, etc.) of a small road’s line that crosses a Class I’s line, said ASLRRA General Superintendent Thomas Streicher. The technology’s biggest impact on short lines likely will be mandated purchases of onboard locomotive devices to comply with PTC requirements in certain areas.

Railroads must submit safety plans to the FRA by April 16, 2010, and PTC systems must be operational by Dec. 31, 2015, said William Everett, ARINC’s senior principal business analyst-surface transportation.

However, a number of interoperability issues still need to be sorted out, he said.

It’s vital that railroads approach PTC in an interoperable way, added GE Transportation Global Sales Manager Jeff Baker.

There are 75,000 U.S. locations that will require new PTC equipment, such as radios or towers, including 35,000 “electronic,” 25,000 “relay” and 15,000 “hand-throw switch” locations, he said. The hand-throw sites pose the greatest expense because “there’s no power or signaling infrastructure there,” said Baker.

Maturation a must

Railroads are pursuing PTC either as vital or non-vital overlays, or as stand-alone vital systems, said Transportation Technology Center Inc. Assistant Vice President of Transportation Alan Polivka.

But PTC technology is “not fully matured” and there still are kinks that need to be worked out, such as braking algorithm variables, “false enforcements” and system capacity issues, he said.

“In the future, we’ll see improvements in system capacity and reductions in wayside hardware,” said Polivka.