Amtrak activates PTC along NEC
Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editorAmtrak activated the final stretch of Positive Train Control (PTC) along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) on Dec. 18. The technology is now active on all Amtrak-owned track between Washington, D.C., and Boston.
PTC on the Philadelphia to New York segment was activated during the weekend of Dec. 18-20 and between Washington, D.C. to New York City the previous weekend, according to USA Today.
In the January/February 2015 edition of Ink, Amtrak’s employee magazine, the passenger carrier detailed the work to install its Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACSES), a component of Amtrak’s PTC system.
“We are trying to be the leader in passenger rail safety,” Mid-Atlantic Division PTC Engineer David James said in the article. “We will implement PTC over the NEC; then we will analyze, renew and start looking at the next evolution of PTC.”
The only hole in the system is along a Metro-North-owned stretch north of New York City. However, Amtrak and Metro-North are committed to closing that gap in the PTC system.