Summer 2000
Volume 107 - No. 2

BLE Focus

The Issues: Positive Train Control

What is Positive Train Control (PTC)? The definition of PTC is, itself, controversial and subject to the perspective of the person who uses the term:

• to a signal maintainer it is a part of the signal system that includes automatic train control;
• to locomotive engineers and conductors it is a safety backup such as Cab Signals with Automatic Train Stop;
• to the railroads it is a means to achieve more control over the operation of the system;
• to high-tech suppliers it is a concept waiting for a product;
• to the FRA it is a potential way to increase both safety and efficiency in the industry;
• to the transit industry and the proponents of high-speed rail it is a means to gain access to the general railroad system track infrastructure without compromising safety; and
• to the science and technology communities it is both a challenge and a mystery.

PTC has assumed a level of importance greater than any other activity of the RSAC process. PTC became an issue to FRA following recommendations, beginning in 1971 from the NTSB, that FRA develop a comprehensive program for future requirements in signal systems for continuous cab signals, automatic speed control and ultimately, "positive train separation." These came after a number of catastrophic collisions resulting in death to operating crew members.

The BLE immediately endorsed PTC as a way to save lives and act as a "guardian angel" for all railroad workers. The 1994 Report to Congress, "Railroad Communications and Train Control," directed the Secretary of Transportation to determine, "the need for Federal standards to ensure that such systems provide for positive train separation and are compatible nationwide." Thus, the issue was referred to the RSAC process.

Update

While PTC is commonly thought of as collision avoidance system, it actually does far more. The theory behind PTC is that it can provide for positive train separation and civil speed enforcement, while at the same time providing protection for roadway workers.

Since at least 1990, the BLE strongly endorsed the concept of positive train separation. In fact, BLE petitioned FRA for implementation of positive train separation several times. In 1995, BLE representatives testified before Congress about the need for positive train separation. That interest has been the cornerstone of BLE participation in the Positive Train Control RSAC process.

It is the BLE view that PTC must have the following characteristics in order to succeed and be embraced by locomotive engineers:

• the technology that is developed must never be less safe than the system it replaces;
• the operating crew must be first in the loop for train control;
• maintenance of a locomotive engineer's train-handling skills is an absolute requirement under any system, because systems will periodically fail and complete manual operations using traditional train handling will be required; and
• the PTC's human-machine interface must be designed as a human-centered system.

The RSAC Working Group that developed the final draft standards adopted in late June included these principles.

While much work remains to ensure that the Final Rule will provide these necessary standards and safeguards, the toughest hurdle on this issue has been to help everyone understand the contribution that an experienced crew makes toward safety in the open railroad environment.

It has also been difficult for some to understand the complex variables associated with train braking and control.

Final draft standards for PTC - including provisions that addressed the BLE's approach - were considered on June 28-29 at the RSAC working group meeting in New Orleans.

With consensus having been reached, the proposal will go through a series of steps. First, it will go to the FRA for initial drafting of regulatory language. It then will be published as a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) for public review and comment.

Then, it will go back to the RSAC, which will have the opportunity to suggest adjustments it believes FRA should make. The FRA will next run it through another internal control process, where it will be analyzed for legal and economic impact.

After the FRA's review, the Office of Management and Budget will examine the rule. The Secretary of Transportation will then review the rule.

It will be published after adjustments, and will become a Final Rule on its effective date. If everything goes as the BLE expects, the Final Rule will be effective in either 2002 or 2003.

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© 2000 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers