Boardman says Amtrak committed to PTC in 2015

Track on the Northeast Corridor.

Amtrak

At a hearing concerning the May 12 accident of Amtrak 188 in Philadelphia, Amtrak President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Boardman reiterated the railroad's commitment to implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) by the end of 2015.

“Safety must continue to be our highest priority,” Boardman told the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in his submitted testimony.

In his written testimony, Boardman noted that the safety systems along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) are the best in the country.

Prior to last month’s train derailment at Frankford Junction, Amtrak’s last fatal passenger accident on the NEC from a derailment or collision occurred 28 years ago, and since then, Amtrak trains have safely carried millions of passengers.

“In no other place is a comparable volume of traffic moved with such a solid record. In addition to a thorough training, oversight and coaching system for our crews, we have a layered signal system that provides trains with multiple levels of protection,” said Boardman.

He explained that Amtrak’s PTC system is in service from New Haven, Conn. to Boston, and at points between Washington, D.C. and New York where trains exceed 125 mph. PTC has been installed on the rest of the Amtrak owned and operated NEC, and is scheduled to be operational by the federal deadline of December 31, 2015.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on June 2 was called to get an update from the National Transportation Safety Board on where its investigation stands and any additional information it can provide on the cause of this accident.

Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) said, “Since the accident, the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak have taken several steps to improve safety along the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak is assessing all the curves along the NEC to determine if additional speed restrictions should be imposed. Amtrak has also announced it will be installing inward facing cameras in its locomotives, to help gain a better understanding of how incidents occur. And they have also committed to finish implementation of Positive Train Control on the Northeast Corridor by December of this year.

“I want to review what actions Amtrak and FRA took on passenger rail safety before this accident, particularly why FRA didn’t mandate the review of severe curves sooner. I also want to discuss what we can do going forward to ensure safety across all passenger and commuter rail corridors,” said Shuster.