PTC installation could be trimmed 10,000 miles

The Obama administration suggests scaling back by 10,000 miles a federal mandate that positive train control be installed on some 140,000 miles of freight and passenger track no later than December 31, 2015. The 10,000 miles represents track over which freight railroads say neither passengers nor dangerous HAZMAT will be transported in 2015. The Association of American Railroads had previously filed a federal lawsuit seeking the 10,000-mile scale back of the PTC mandate and rail CEOs earlier this year visited the White House to plead for administration support. Railroads contend that the 140,000-mile FRA mandate for PTC installation is based on outdated HAZMAT traffic data and that railroads will not be transporting those HAZMAT cargos over the 10,000 miles sought to be removed from the mandate. The Association of American Railroads says the removal of those 10,000 miles from the mandate will save the industry some $500 million in installation costs.