Amtrak plans to equip approximately 310 locomotives to operate using positive train control (PTC) technology and comply with the federal requirement by 31 December 2018. The PTC equipment will be installed on Amtrak-owned diesel locomotives that primarily operate on national Amtrak network and state-sponsored routes in the east and midwest.
Amtrak is a leader in the deployment and use of positive train control. In December 2015, Amtrak activated PTC on its busiest route, between New York and Washington, D.C., completing installation on most Amtrak-owned infrastructure on the Northeast Corridor. PTC has been installed between Boston and New Haven since 2000 and since 2002 along the 97 miles of track it owns in Michigan and Indiana. In early 2016, Amtrak activated PTC on its 104-mile Harrisburg Line.
Amtrak has also signed an agreement with Rockwell Collins to implement the company’s ARINC RailwayNet service, a hosted network, messaging and application platform, designed to meet the PTC requirements mandated by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, as amended.
This service will allow the Amtrak fleet to interface with the PTC systems of other railroads when using their tracks for its trains. Under the agreement, Rockwell Collins will initialize the Amtrak fleet to run on 19 different railroads, including commuter and freight routes that host Amtrak services.
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