Letter to Ms. Rinaldi - Enough Is Enough, It's Time To Be Honest With The Public For When To Expect PTC Installed
Letter
Dear Ms. Rinaldi:
I write to request Metro-North immediately publish to the public the railroad's new, delayed timeline for full implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) after statements last week that Metro-North will be submitting a request for an "alternative schedule" from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). PTC is a lifesaving technology that must be implemented as soon as possible and further delays are simply unacceptable. Metro-North has received considerable assistance in achieving PTC implementation, including a 3 year extension of the original 2015 Congressional deadline and a federal loan of nearly $1 billion to the MTA to aid in the deployment of this technology. With that in mind, to learn now that Metro-North is once again asking regulators for additional time is deeply troubling.
As you know, in 2008, Congress required all railroad main lines with regularly scheduled commuter rail passenger service to fully implement Positive Train Control (PTC) by December 31, 2015. Despite repeated urging from members of Congress, including myself, many railroads failed to meet that deadline and as a result Congress extended the deadline to December 31, 2018. Now to learn that 10 years may not be enough time for Metro-North and that the railroad plans to request even more time is alarming at best. It's even more concerning in light of numerous previous conversations on the subject where Metro-North had made it clear that they would meet the 2018 deadline. Passengers and employees that rely on Metro-North cannot afford any delay in the full implementation of PTC, and Metro-North must do everything in its power to complete this installation of this life-saving technology.
In 2015, I helped to secure a low-cost, federal Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for $976.1 million to be used by the MTA and its railroads for PTC implementation. The FRA gives RRIF priority to projects that provide public benefits, including benefits to public safety such as PTC. Further, in the 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act, I helped secure $863 million in rail grants in which railroads like Metro-North could apply to support the implementation of PTC, make rail infrastructure improvements, and restore or enhance passenger rail service. The nearly $1 billion in RRIF financing and access to rail grants enables both these commuter rail lines to swiftly install and implement the lifesaving technology that will increase safety for Metro-North customers, employees, and residents of the communities served by the railroads.
PTC is a communications and signaling system that can be used on railroads to prevent collisions caused by excessive speed and human error. PTC is used to monitor train speeds and prevent collisions and derailments by controlling train movements through a system of integrated command, control, communications, and information technologies. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has found dozens of passenger and freight rail accidents over the years could have been prevented through the use of PTC, like the 2013 Spuyten Duyvil crash in the Bronx in which four lives were lost and the derailment of Amtrak Train 188 in Philadelphia in 2015 in which eight lives were lost and hundreds injured.
I appreciate your attention to this issue and look forward to Metro-North sharing with the public the new, delayed timeline for the implementation of PTC so that customers, employees, and resident of the communities served by Metro-North will be able to continue to hold the railroad accountable. Should you need further information please do not hesitate to contact my office.
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