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Life-saving technology has been turned on for Amtrak trains in the northeast.
Last edited Tue Dec 22, 2015, 02:24 PM - Edit history (1)
Transportation
Life-saving technology has been turned on for Amtrak trains in the northeast. Other places have to wait.
By Michael Laris and Ashley Halsey III December 21 at 7:46 PM
@mikelaris
@ashleyhalsey3rd
Automatic-braking technology that would have prevented a deadly crash in Philadelphia this year has now been activated from Washington to New York, Amtrak said Monday, a significant milestone that also underscores how far the rest of the nation’s rail system lags in installing the lifesaving equipment.
Amtrak turned on the safety technology from Philadelphia to New York over the weekend, said D.J. Stadtler, vice president of operations.
He said the technological backstop — which can halt trains when their human engineers do not and is known as “positive train control” — is in place and operational on nearly all the Amtrak-owned or maintained track along the Northeast Corridor, which stretches from Washington to Boston.
Outside of that corridor, the rails Amtrak runs on are owned by freight-rail companies, which are years away from having similar protections in place.
Life-saving technology has been turned on for Amtrak trains in the northeast. Other places have to wait.
By Michael Laris and Ashley Halsey III December 21 at 7:46 PM
@mikelaris
@ashleyhalsey3rd
Automatic-braking technology that would have prevented a deadly crash in Philadelphia this year has now been activated from Washington to New York, Amtrak said Monday, a significant milestone that also underscores how far the rest of the nation’s rail system lags in installing the lifesaving equipment.
Amtrak turned on the safety technology from Philadelphia to New York over the weekend, said D.J. Stadtler, vice president of operations.
He said the technological backstop — which can halt trains when their human engineers do not and is known as “positive train control” — is in place and operational on nearly all the Amtrak-owned or maintained track along the Northeast Corridor, which stretches from Washington to Boston.
Outside of that corridor, the rails Amtrak runs on are owned by freight-rail companies, which are years away from having similar protections in place.
U.S. | New York | NY Transit
Safety Bolstered on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor
New York-Philadelphia stretch now equipped with new system that helps prevent crashes
By Andrew Tangel
andrew.tangel@wsj.com
@AndrewTangel
Dec. 20, 2015 6:05 p.m. ET
Travelers taking Amtrak between New York City and Philadelphia are now being protected by a new crash-prevention system.
The national passenger railroad over the weekend activated its version of so-called positive train control between the two cities, the last stretch of its tracks on the busy Northeast Corridor to get the system.
Amtrak, which activated the system between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., earlier this month, is meeting a federal year-end deadline that Congress recently extended amid protests by many freight and commuter railroads.
....
Known as PTC, the system can take control of a train before it speeds through a curve where trains should slow down, or if the engineer driving it becomes disabled or distracted. ... Experts say the safety system, had it been activated on the southern stretch of the corridor, could have prevented an Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia in May that killed eight and injured more than 200 others.
Safety Bolstered on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor
New York-Philadelphia stretch now equipped with new system that helps prevent crashes
By Andrew Tangel
andrew.tangel@wsj.com
@AndrewTangel
Dec. 20, 2015 6:05 p.m. ET
Travelers taking Amtrak between New York City and Philadelphia are now being protected by a new crash-prevention system.
The national passenger railroad over the weekend activated its version of so-called positive train control between the two cities, the last stretch of its tracks on the busy Northeast Corridor to get the system.
Amtrak, which activated the system between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., earlier this month, is meeting a federal year-end deadline that Congress recently extended amid protests by many freight and commuter railroads.
....
Known as PTC, the system can take control of a train before it speeds through a curve where trains should slow down, or if the engineer driving it becomes disabled or distracted. ... Experts say the safety system, had it been activated on the southern stretch of the corridor, could have prevented an Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia in May that killed eight and injured more than 200 others.