Metro-North, LIRR Near Completion Of Train Control Safety System

Roll-out of the Positive Train Control system meant to prevent fatal crashes like those on the Harlem and Hudson commuter lines is nearly finished on Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road.

That's despite the unprecedented and catastrophic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the finances of the railroads’ parent organization, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The MTA board warned of massive layoffs during a board meeting Wednesday. SEE: LIRR, Metro North Could Face Massive Cuts Due To Coronavirus.

Still, the transit agency is on schedule to have full Positive Train Control functionality across the railroad by the end of this year, said Catherine Rinaldi, president of MTA Metro-North Railroad, in a news release.

The MTA began installing Positive Train Control on Metro-North after two years in which 14 people were killed and more than 100 people were injured in Connecticut and New York.

SEE:

• Deadly Train Crash Puts the Spotlight on Metro-North's Recent Safety Record — Again
• MTA to Improve Safety on Metro-North with $967.1 Million Federal Loan

PTC reduces the potential for human error to contribute to train-to-train collisions, trains traveling into zones where railroad employees are working on tracks, or derailments caused by a train traveling too fast into a curve or into a misaligned switch. The system uses a network of computers on board trains and along the tracks that are in communication with a central control hub, sharing data on rail conditions in real time.

Metro-North

East of the Hudson River, all trains on the Harlem Line, Hudson Line, and Danbury Branch are operating with Positive Train Control. On the New Haven Line and the New Haven Line’s New Canaan Branch, the railroad has completed testing the software and is obtaining the safety certification.

West of the Hudson River, the Pascack Valley Line began PTC operations in September, and the railroad expects the Port Jervis Line to begin PTC operations by early December.

Long Island Rail Road

The Long Island Rail Road implemented PTC through Jamaica in October and the system is now operating on 98 percent of the railroad’s 305 route miles. Still left is a complex of switches in Sunnyside, Queens, known as Harold Interlocking, where Amtrak and LIRR trains merge to reach Penn Station. The LIRR expects to implement PTC at this location as soon as Amtrak finalizes its PTC in the adjacent rail lines they control.

“The finish line is in sight,” said MTA Long Island Rail Road President Phil Eng.