SFRTA PTC-Certified

Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
image description

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Dec. 14, 2020 certified that regional/commuter rail agency South Florida Regional Transportation Authority’s IETMS (Interoperable Electronic Train Management System) complies with the technical requirements for Positive Train Control (PTC), thereby meeting the federally mandated Dec. 31, 2020 final implementation deadline.

SFRTA has been running PTC RSD (Revenue Service Demonstration) on the South Florida Rail (Tri-Rail) Corridor since June 2019, and has worked with tenants CSX and Amtrak “to ensure all train activity on the corridor is PTC-equipped.”

“I am tremendously pleased to have received PTC certification, and offer a big thanks to all staff involved to reach this major milestone,” said Steven Abrams, SFRTA Executive Director. “It is a great way to close this particularly trying year with some great news, knowing that our railroad is running at the highest level of safety measures. Despite being a brand new technology that we had to implement with a fairly aggressive schedule, we were able to complete it on time with minimal service delays on our corridor. We accept this early holiday gift with plans to carry the positivity onto the New Year.”

PTC, signed into law under the Rail Safety Improvement Act (RSIA) of 2008, originally required full implementation of PTC on 41 railroads in the country by Dec. 31, 2015. Congress extended the deadline into two phases—an interim deadline of Dec. 31, 2018 for certain provisions, and a final deadline of Dec. 31, 2020, with FRA approval. SFRTA was one of 33 railroads granted the extension to the end of this year. As of Sept. 30, 2020, close to 100% of railroads required to have PTC were in compliance.

Listen to a Rail Group On Air Podcast with Steven Abrams sponsored by the Commuter Rail Coalition.

Tags: , ,