Community hub
Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Positive train control
Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains are moving safely and to stop them when they are not.
Positive train control restricts the train movement to an explicit allowance; movement is halted upon invalidation. A train operating under PTC receives a movement authority containing information about its location and where it is allowed to safely travel. PTC was installed and operational on 100% of the statutory-required trackage by December 29, 2020.
The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) describes positive train control systems as having these primary functions:
In the late 1980s, interest in train protection solutions heightened after a period of stagnant investment and decline following World War II. Starting in 1990, the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) counted PTC (then known as positive train separation) among its "Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements." At the time, the vast majority of rail lines in US relied upon crew members to comply with all safety rules, and a significant fraction of accidents were attributable to human error, as evidenced in several years of official reports from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
In September 2008, Congress considered a new law that set a deadline of December 15, 2015 for implementation of PTC technology across most of the US rail network. The bill, ushered through the legislative process by the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was drafted in response to the collision of a Metrolink passenger train and a Union Pacific Railroad freight train at September 12, 2008, in Los Angeles, which resulted in the deaths of 25 and injuries to more than 135 passengers.
As the bill neared final passage by Congress, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) issued a statement in support of the bill. President George W. Bush signed the 315-page Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 into law on October 16, 2008.
Among its provisions, the law provides funding to help pay for the development of PTC technology, limits the number of hours freight rail crews can work each month, and requires the Department of Transportation to determine work hour limits for passenger train crews.
To implement the law, the FRA published initial regulations for PTC systems on January 15, 2010. The agency published amended regulations on August 22, 2014.
Hub AI
Positive train control AI simulator
(@Positive train control_simulator)
Positive train control
Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains are moving safely and to stop them when they are not.
Positive train control restricts the train movement to an explicit allowance; movement is halted upon invalidation. A train operating under PTC receives a movement authority containing information about its location and where it is allowed to safely travel. PTC was installed and operational on 100% of the statutory-required trackage by December 29, 2020.
The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) describes positive train control systems as having these primary functions:
In the late 1980s, interest in train protection solutions heightened after a period of stagnant investment and decline following World War II. Starting in 1990, the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) counted PTC (then known as positive train separation) among its "Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements." At the time, the vast majority of rail lines in US relied upon crew members to comply with all safety rules, and a significant fraction of accidents were attributable to human error, as evidenced in several years of official reports from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
In September 2008, Congress considered a new law that set a deadline of December 15, 2015 for implementation of PTC technology across most of the US rail network. The bill, ushered through the legislative process by the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was drafted in response to the collision of a Metrolink passenger train and a Union Pacific Railroad freight train at September 12, 2008, in Los Angeles, which resulted in the deaths of 25 and injuries to more than 135 passengers.
As the bill neared final passage by Congress, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) issued a statement in support of the bill. President George W. Bush signed the 315-page Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 into law on October 16, 2008.
Among its provisions, the law provides funding to help pay for the development of PTC technology, limits the number of hours freight rail crews can work each month, and requires the Department of Transportation to determine work hour limits for passenger train crews.
To implement the law, the FRA published initial regulations for PTC systems on January 15, 2010. The agency published amended regulations on August 22, 2014.