For Passenger Railroads, PTC Uncertainty Still Rules

United States (U.S.) commuter railroads are continuing to push ahead with the implementation of positive train control (PTC), despite not knowing when, or if, all of the implementation issues will be resolved or not. As more than a dozen U.S. commuter railroads continue to pursue PTC systems to comply with the federal mandate, certainty and uncertainty surround the implementation efforts. The article describes how commuter railroads have very serious concerns regarding the implementation of PTC. Nonetheless, commuter railroad leaders and PTC managers continue to plug along with their respective implementations despite not knowing when, or if, all their issues will be resolved. It is not as if they have a choice unless the federal government extends the deadline by three or five years.