BNSF Railway Company announced December 2017 that it had fully installed and was operating under Positive Train Control on all mandated subdivisions in advance of the December 31, 2018 deadline. However, it announced June 13 that it has submitted a request to the Department of Transportation for a two-year extension of the PTC deadline, a news release explained.
PTC is an advanced system designed to automatically stop a train before an accident occurs.
The extension is required due to the Federal Railroad Administration’s current interpretation of the law that full implementation status cannot be achieved until all non-BNSF trains and/or equipment operating on its PTC-equipped lines are also PTC-compliant, the release said.
“BNSF has succeeded in the adoption of this key safety technology. Even with this request for a deadline extension, BNSF’s PTC network is installed and we are currently running, and will continue to run, more than a thousand trains daily with PTC as we continue to refine the system and resolve technological challenges,” Chris Matthews, BNSF assistant VP, Network Control Systems, said in the release.
BNSF completed the installation of all mandated PTC infrastructure at the end of 2017, including 88 required subdivisions covering more than 11,500 route miles on its network, the company said. However, to be “fully implemented” requires all other railroads operating across any of BNSF’s PTC-equipped lines be capable of operating with BNSF’s PTC system.
BNSF says the interoperability of PTC systems between Class I, commuter and short line rail carriers remains a challenge.
The railroad company has successfully demonstrated interoperability with several railroads that operate on its network, including commuter railroads and Amtrak, however, not all railroads that operate on BNSF will have completed their PTC installation by the end of 2018, thus the company is filing for the extension.