And then there were six; and on BNSF there will be four

Six is the remaining number of passenger railroads that may not qualify for a Positive Train Control (PTC) extension under current guidelines at the end of 2018. As reported by Trains, the extensions are available only to railroads that have completed physical installation of PTC hardware to the 90 percent level.

The statement that six may not qualify was made by FRA administrator Ron Batory at a meeting in Illinois. A list of the six is unavailable.

Mr. Batory also described PTC as a risk-reduction system, rather than a safety system at this meeting. Whether this is a conscious effort to say that PTC will not drop the risk of accident to zero percent (or the safety of a system to 100%), or is simply another way of saying the same thing is unclear.

Across the country, there are a number of passenger railroads, or segments of them, that will not have to install PTC, in part because their traffic volume is too low or they have other operable viable safety systems in place. Because Amtrak has largely complied on its owned lines, I would think Amtrak is not a member of the gang of six.

That leaves either commuter systems which have been financially hard-pressed to fund PTC, or short lines that handle tourist traffic. I repeat, no concrete list of the potential non-compliers is available.

Back at the ranch, in Amarillo, TX, BNSF announces there are now four main tracks on the Southern Transcon through that Texas Panhandle town, and soon there will be four through Needles, CA, on the Seligman Sub. Remember when the Pennsylvania Railroad had four main tracks through the Alleghenies? It's been a while. So consider this announcement as an indication of the robust nature of the railroad business in 2018.

©2018 - C. A. Turek - mistertrains@gmail.com