PTC Deployment - It is chugging along....

[jis]

Nice article on the current status on PTC deployment appeared in Progressive Railroading.

Faced with a December 2015 deadline to implement positive train control (PTC), freight and commuter railroads say they are working as fast as they can to acquire, equip, install and test still-evolving technology that one day will lead to a nationwide crash-prevention safety system — a goal industry officials are committed to. But frustration is building over regulatory uncertainties that railroad leaders say are impeding their ability to get their PTC systems up and running.

No. 1 on railroad execs' list of hurdles? How to proceed with PTC installation despite the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) order to stop installing the necessary signaling antennas. None of the remaining 22,000 antenna structures needed for PTC to operate have been installed as a result of the halt order, which was issued in 2013 after the commission determined it needed more time to develop a historic preservation and tribal review process for the antennas' locations.

The complete article is Positive train control implementation chugs along, despite challenges.

 

[CHamilton]

FCC, railroads reach agreement on PTC towers

An agreement has been reached between the seven Class 1 freight railroads and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the installation of positive train control (PTC) antennas, but the Association of American Railroads (AAR) says the delay in developing the process has severely impeded PTC implementation and a fully operable system by the 2015 deadline is not possible.
The agreement between the FCC and the Class 1s addresses the railroads' construction of the nearly 11,000 PTC poles before May 2013 that may not have undergone the statutorily required environmental and historic preservation review and allows the railroads to immediately start using those poles for important testing and other preparatory activities and for the ultimate provision of PTC.

The freight railroads have agreed to create a $10 million Cultural Resource Fund to provide funding directly to Tribal Nations and State Historic Preservation Offices to support cultural and historic preservation projects. A neutral third party administrator will administer the fund. Each freight railroad has also committed to training its employees on environmental and historic preservation compliance and to building working relationships with Tribal Nations.

Additionally, on May 16, 2014, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) voted to approve a Program Comment that modifies the FCC's usual procedures for historic preservation review.