The positive train control PTC across New York network has been activated on the majority of the railway tracks of MTA, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Rail.
MTA announced the completion of the system wide activation of PTC by the end of 2020 as required under the Federal legislation. Harlem Line, Hudson Line, and inner New Haven Line are now operating with PTC, while the operator will focus on the Stamford – New Haven section.
325 km or 82% of Metro-North network are operating with the PTC system with completed installation on the Harlem Line, Hudson Line, the New Haven Line from Grand Central Terminal to Greenwich and the New Haven Line’s Danbury and New Canaan Branches. The company is now focused to install the new system on the Stamford – New Haven section.
On the Long Island Rail Road network, 73% or 356 km are equipped with the PTC on the Babylon, Central, Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach, Montauk, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Port Washington, and West Hemstead branches. The new system is also in operation on the Ronkonkoma – Greenport section, part of Ronkonkoma Branch.
All of the segments that have been activated with PTC across New York have it enabled full interoperability with all other railways who share the tracks, including Amtrak and freight railway operators.
“Despite supply chain and other impacts from the pandemic, we remain on schedule to have full PTC functionality across the railroad by the end of this year. Field work and testing continues,” Catherine Rinaldi, the President of MTA Metro-North Rail said.
The staff who are working to activate PTC across New York have had to reorder the sequences of tasks to make the work more efficient with supply chains disrupted by the pandemic, and have had to ensure adequate social distancing of staff who are performing testing of train cars. But that testing is nevertheless continuing seven days a week.
According to FRA report, nearly all operators comply with PTC deadline set by the Congress for December 31, 2020. Currently, the technology remains to be activated on a 1,770 route km.
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