Florida East Coast Railway Requests To Amend PTC System

FRA

Florida East Coast Railway submitted a request for amendment to its Positive Train Control Safety Plan on March 7. The FRA published a notice and is seeking public feedback on the railroad's RFA to its PTC safety plan because the request could entail a request for FRA approval of planned major modifications to a FRA-certified positive train control system.

By April 5, 2023, FRA will take into account any comments. To the extent that it is feasible and without postponing the implementation of beneficial or essential adjustments to a PTC system, FRA may take into account comments received after that date, according to Federal Register documents. 

Before the technology can be used in revenue service, Title 49 United States Code Section 20157(h) mandates that the FRA verify that a host railroad’s PTC system complies with Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations part 236, subpart I. According to 49 CFR 236.1021, a host railroad must submit and receive FRA approval of an RFA to its PTCSP before making certain changes to a FRA-certified PTC system or the accompanying FRA-approved PTCSP.

Comments may be submitted here by following the online instructions for submitting comments. All submissions must include the agency name and the applicable docket number. The relevant PTC docket number for this host railroad is Docket No. FRA-2015-0062.