MBTA achieves full PTC functionality

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) recently achieved full Positive Train Control (PTC) functionality. MBTA’s commuter rail safety system will result in lasting benefits for passengers, crew and the traveling publicand yet, benefits go beyond safety improvements. The technology will enhance operational resilience and reduce travel delays along MBTA’s 14 commuter rail lines, ultimately providing travelers with a more reliable commute. 

MBTA’s new signaling infrastructure marks the culmination of years of safety upgrades implemented across Greater Boston’s commuter railways. PTC plays a crucial role in preventing train-to-train collisions, overspeed derailments, unauthorized work zone incursions and movement through improperly aligned switches. In addition, PTC bolsters safety when trains pass between interlockings and through highway-rail grade crossings.  

Beyond enhancing safety, additional benefits include: 

• Closer train headway on select routes, potentially reducing travel times.  
• Shorter wait times when vehicles are stopped at a highway-rail grade crossing through an update to constant warning time systems, improving predictions of when crossing signals are initiated.  
• Fewer legacy wayside signal systems, reducing MBTA costs to maintain State of Good Repair and, potentially, avoiding travel delays caused by wayside signal failures.  
• Greater resilience for the MBTA’s electrical distribution systems, feeding power from multiple sources to reduce the likelihood of a signaling power outage. 

The MBTA designated PTC as its top priority for the capital program. During the past decade, the MBTA followed a phased approach to install PTC systems throughout its 394-mile commuter rail system. 

This phased approach started with the commuter rail lines running out of South Station. Because the MBTA shares its South side commuter railways with Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, both operators’ PTC systems had to be fully interoperable. This involved installing systems on each line until, over time, the entire South side became equipped.  

Following a line-by-line testing and installation approach, today PTC systems are now fully in place across MBTA commuter rail lines operating out of both North and South stations. 

The MBTA recognizes PTC operations are dependent on reliable, efficient and high-capacity networks. In response, the MBTA is undertaking a large-scale capital project to bury fiber-optic cables alongside miles and miles of commuter rail tracks. Considered the third phase of MBTA’s PTC program, the project will enhance resilience of local access networks, protecting critical communications from storms or accidents that could otherwise disrupt PTC performance. 

PTC touches nearly every component of railway operations.Still, PTC installation is only the beginning. Full PTC functionality is an on-going process. It involves continual communications and signaling infrastructure upgrades, on-board systems updates and testing to ensure interconnected technologies remain operational and interoperable with neighboring and tenant railroads. 

The PTC transition is a demonstration of the MBTA’s strong commitment to deliver a safe, reliable, convenient experience for travelers across Greater Boston.