The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) announced that will be forced to suspend some, if not all, of its commuter rail service in Virginia and Washington D.C. after December 31, 2015 if Congress does not act to extend the deadline for implementing Positive Train Control (PTC).
On October 20, VRE received an official notification from one of its host railwaycompany, Norfolk Southern Railway (NSR), that because PTC will not be fully operational on their railways by the deadline, VRE passenger trains will not be permitted to operate on NSR tracks after December 31. This would affect all Manassas Line trains.
“Safety is VRE’ s top priority and we are fully committed to implementing PTC.
Despite the hard work and dedication by all involved, more time is needed. We’ve been briefing our Congressional delegation since July and they are fully supportive of extending the PTC deadline. It is vitally important that the extension is approved soon,” VRE CEO Doug Allen said.
VRE is spending USD 10.5 million to implement PTC which includes installing on‐board computers and radio equipment on its locomotives and cab cars. The company anticipates substantially completing PTC equipment installations by year‐end. VRE operates on tracks owned by CSX Transport ation and NSR. PTC work on those railroads will not be completed by the deadline.
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