Demonstrating the industry's commitment to safety and to reaching the statutory 2020 requirement, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced that in the third quarter of 2019 the commuter rail industry continued to make progress towards implementing Positive Train Control (PTC).
PTC is a signaling and communications technology that provides critical safety redundancies to the commuter rail industry. As of Sept. 30, 97% of railroads are PTC certified, in revenue service demonstration, or field testing (30 railroads):
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50% in revenue service demonstration.
37% are PTC certified by FRA or are operating with PTC.
10% are in field testing.
3% are preparing for field testing.
According to APTA, rail is among the safest travel modes, with commuter rail and intercity rail 18 times safer than traveling by automobile. "Safety is a core value for APTA and commuter rail operators. It is a fundamental operating principle and a promise to our riders," said APTA President/CEO Paul P. Skoutelas. "That's why we are committed to staying at the forefront of rider safety by implementing positive train control and making commuter rail even safer. The commuter rail industry is strongly focused and committed to completing full implementation by December 2020."
While their comprehensive analysis of bus stops focused on Massachusetts, the researchers are excited about the generalizability of the findings and application to other locations.
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