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Transportation Safety
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Implement Positive Train Control Systems
Objective
Over the last three decades, the Safety Board has investigated a long list of accidents in which crewmembers failed to operate their trains effectively and in accordance with operating rules for a variety of reasons, including fatigue, sleeping disorders, use of medications, or distractions within the operating cab. Because of these human performance deficiencies, the Board has advocated the implementation of a system that compensates for human error and that incorporates collision avoidance to prevent train collisions. The Board believes that this system, known in the industry as positive train control (PTC), is particularly important in places where passenger trains and freight trains both operate. Because of the Board’s longstanding interest in this issue, the area has remained on the Board’s Most Wanted List since the inception of the list in 1990. This safety issue was highlighted when a freight train and a commuter train collided head-on in Placentia, California, in 2002. As a result of that accident, the Board reiterated the need for PTC systems, particularly on high-risk corridors where commuter and intercity passenger railroads operate.
Summary of ActionThe FRA recently granted $4.5 million to the Railroad Research Foundation to continue developing and testing wireless communications devices and equipment for communication-based train control (CBTC) systems. A form of PTC, CBTC systems are designed to automatically control train movements and speed if a locomotive engineer fails to take appropriate actions. The foundation plans to use grant proceeds to help fund the design and construction of a universal onboard platform that could switch a locomotive between different PTC operating systems or connect to another train-control network.
The FRA is also funding the North American Joint PTC Program to develop a stand-alone, moving block, office-centric, vital PTC system. The vital PTC system is being developed and installed for initial testing on 14 miles of test track at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, Colorado. All onboard and office equipment has been moved from the Illinois test bed to TTC. The wayside equipment remains in Illinois since it is also providing the conventional signaling for that line. The system is designed to enforce movement authorities and speed restrictions, both civil and temporary, monitor switches, and provide potential headway/capacity benefits. Development and testing of the basic PTC system is to be completed by the beginning of 2010.
The following examples identify initiatives undertaken by several railroads to develop and implement PTC systems.
Amtrak upgraded its Automatic Train Control (ATC) system throughout the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C., and Boston, Massachusetts, and on connecting corridors to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Springfield, Massachusetts. In addition, Amtrak enhanced its ATC system with its Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACSES) on 430 track miles of the Northeast Corridor. This includes Positive Train Stop (PTS) and civil speed enforcement, which together provide the full protection required to meet PTC standards. This is a vital, fail-safe system meeting all Title 49, Section 236 requirements for signal systems. Freight carriers operating on the Northeast Corridor have 60 locomotives equipped for both ATC and ACSES operations. Amtrak continues to make improvements to ACSES.
Amtrak is currently in the process of migrating to ACSES II, a data radio network that will allow Amtrak to issue temporary speed restrictions directly to each train from the dispatcher’s office without physically placing temporary transponders along the track each time a temporary restriction is issued. Installation of the new network in the dispatcher’s office and the upgrade of 243 engines, power cars and cab control units are in the final stages. With these upgrades, ACSES II is expected to be in revenue service in all ACSES territories between Washington, DC and Providence, Rhode Island by the end of 2007. It is scheduled to be completed to Boston, Massachusetts in 2008 after Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority units are upgraded to ACSES II.
Additionally, Amtrak has installed the Incremental Train Control System (ITCS) on 45 miles of track between Chicago and Detroit that allow train speeds up to 95 mph. A major on-board computer upgrade scheduled for October 2007 will significantly improve the operation, and completion of the follow-up validation and verification audit is anticipated in December 2007. This will allow trains to operate at speeds up to 110 mph. ITCS is a vital, fail-safe system, which also includes advanced highway grade crossing activation for trains exceeding 79 mph. Amtrak currently has 22 units, and the Norfolk Southern Railway has 6 locomotives equipped with ITCS.
In addition, an entirely new wireless infrastructure has been ordered for ITCS, with a state-of-the-art network. It will operate at 220 MHz in lieu of the current 900 MHz band. This upgrade is expected to be in place near the end of the second quarter of 2008, and is expected to greatly improve the reliability of ITCS for the long term. Following this upgrade on the original 45 miles, ITCS will be extended another 21 miles on this route for a total of 66 miles. A plan to extend ITCS another 8 miles to the Indiana State line awaits future funding.
New Jersey Transit (NJT) has installed the Advanced Speed Enforcement System (ASES) on 23 miles of track. NJT has funded the project for its 540-mile system. The design for wayside equipment is approximately 60-percent completed and the on-board cab signal equipment is about 92 percent completed. However, the manufacturer must still resolve reliability issues.
The Union Pacific Railroad is working on a CBTC pilot that will be installed on two test beds. Locomotive equipment installation began in September 2006. Testing to validate track databases continues. In August 2007, UP submitted their railroad safety program plan to the FRA for approval as required by federal regulations. In addition, they submitted an informational filing to commence field-testing of the CBTC pilot contingent upon FRA acceptance and approval. Field equipment will be installed on approximately 333 miles of track that includes 193 miles of signaled territory and 140 miles of track in dark territory. When fully implemented, CBTC will enforce “stop” and “stop & proceed” signals, dark territory authority limits, and speed restrictions.
The Alaska Railroad Corporation is developing a collision avoidance system for its entire territory, consisting of 611 miles of track. The railroad has installed a data radio network and has equipped its locomotive fleet with data radios and GPS receivers for locomotive tracking. The railroad is now testing computers onboard locomotives. Development and testing of the vital office safety server began in the spring of 2007 and is nearly complete. Acceptance testing has been completed on 9 of 12 functions. Field testing is scheduled for November 2007. Alaska Railroad Corporation is preparing its product safety plan and will include field tests results for submittal in March 2008 to the FRA. System acceptance is scheduled for 2008.
In 2004, BNSF Railway (BNSF) installed a pilot program of its Electronic Train Management System (ETMS) on 135 miles of its track between Centralia and Beardstown, Illinois. It equipped 50 locomotives for this test bed. In January 2007, the FRA announced approval of the first PTC system on the BNSF capable of automatically controlling train speed and movements to prevent accidents, including train collisions. The FRA approval will allow for limited BNSF system deployment to territories on 35 specific freight lines in 17 states with operational characteristics similar to the pilot program that was constructed between Centralia and Beardstown. BNSF next plans to install ETMS on 167 miles of track between Fort Worth, Texas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Forty additional locomotives have been equipped for that test bed and testing is expected to begin in November 2007.
ETMS uses both digital communications and a global positioning system (GPS) to monitor train location and speed within track authority limits. The ETMS system includes an in-cab electronic display screen that will first warn of a problem and then automatically engage the train’s braking system if a locomotive engineer fails to act in accordance with operating instructions.
In August 2005, Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) began developing Optimized Train Control (OTC) on a line between Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina. The line currently is non-signaled (dark) territory and is operated under track warrant control. The OTC system will be capable of enforcing mandatory directives, including civil and temporary speed limits as well as operating limits to achieve train separation. Switch awareness and GPS train tracking functions will allow the monitoring of hand-operated switches and the tracking of train location on the line. NS has installed switch monitoring devices on the line, and is now installing communication equipment on locomotives and at the dispatch center.
Draft legislation in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, if enacted, will require railroads to submit to the FRA plans for installing PTC systems.
Action Remaining
Safety Recommendation
R-01-6 (FRA)
Issued May 15, 2001
Added to the Most Wanted List: 2001
Status: Open—Acceptable Response
Facilitate actions necessary for development and implementation of positive train control (PTC) systems including collision-avoidance components, and require implementation of positive train control systems on main line tracks, establishing priority requirements for high-risk corridors such as those where commuter and intercity passenger railroads operate. (Source: Collision Involving Three Consolidated Rail Corporation Freight Trains Operating in Fog on a Double Main Track Near Bryan, Ohio, January 17, 1999 [NTSB/RAR-01-01])
November 2007
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