LIRR, Metro-North on track to meet end of year PTC deadline
With 32 weeks left before the final deadline to implement positive train control (PTC), both of Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) commuter lines are on schedule to have the safety overlay system active on their systems.
Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) provided an update to the MTA Board on May 20. PTC is operating on 202 miles of Metro-North’s system, which is 82 percent of the total required. The complete Harlem and Hudson Lines are operating under PTC, as is the New Haven Line from Grand Central Terminal to Greenwich, Conn., and the New Haven Line’s Danbury and New Canaan Branches. LIRR has PTC operating on 223 miles, or 73 percent, of its system, including the Babylon, Central, Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach, Montauk, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Port Washington and West Hemstead Branches and the section of the Ronkonkoma Branch from Ronkonkoma to Greenport.
“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,” said Catherine Rinaldi, president of MTA Metro-North Railroad. “Field work and testing continues. With the Harlem Line, Hudson Line and inner New Haven Line now operating in PTC, the focus [is] now on the remaining section between Stamford to New Haven.”
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains causing staff working on PTC to find efficiency through reordered sequences of tasks. Additionally, adjustments were needed to ensure adequate social distancing was observed by staff who were performing testing of train cars. Despite this, the railroads report testing continues seven days a week.
“I’m proud to say that we have found ways to continue delivering on this vital project despite the pandemic,” said Phil Eng, president of LIRR. “We continue to make adjustments during the pandemic but remain on schedule to meet our commitment to have all segments of the railroad operating in PTC by the December deadline.”
Interoperability – where one railroad’s PTC system can communicate with another railroads PTC system – is a technological challenge of PTC. Metro-North’s PTC system is required to be interoperable with two other railroads while LIRR’s system must be interoperable with seven. The railroads say all the segments that have been activated with PTC have enabled full interoperability with all other railroads who share the tracks, including Amtrak and freight railroads.
Last week, the Federal Railroad Administration released a quarterly report documenting the rail industry’s progress toward PTC implementation. While four commuter railroads were labeled “at-risk” of not meeting the deadline, overall, the rail industry is on track to complete implementation of PTC by the end of the year.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
