Tri-Rail, which was previously expected to begin train service in downtown Miami by the end of the calendar year, now faces a new roadblock that make its start date unclear: Tri-Rail lacks federal certification for its Positive Train Control (PTC) safety system. While Tri-Rail trains do have the mandated PTC system in place, a federal certification is required for it to be a tenant on the Florida East Coast Railway.  On top of that, Tri-Rail’s PTC system is not yet compatible with the system that the Florida East Coast Railway uses, so it will need to be adopted on Tri-Rail trains and installed alongside the tracks.

What makes PTC systems so important for rail safety?

PTC is a highly effective automated braking technology designed to monitor locomotive operations along 60,000 miles of track in the U.S. PTC helps prevent trains from derailing by automatically slowing or stopping them when the system detects a dangerous situation.

PTC has been federally mandated by the Federal Railroad Association since 2008, and was largely prompted by a train collision that year that killed 25 and injured 135 in Chatsworth, California. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Chatsworth incident could have been prevented by PTC technology. On May 21, 2019, the NTSB also released a report saying that another deadly passenger train derailment, which killed three train passengers and injured 65 others in 2017, would have been preventable if fully operational PTC technology was in place.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao emphasized the significance of PTC for rail safety: “the adoption of PTC systems is the most fundamental change in our country’s rail safety technology since the introduction of automatic train control nearly 100 years ago. Once fully implemented, PTC will save lives, protect property and make America’s vast rail network considerably safer.”

Once running, daily 450-person-capacity Tri-Rail trains will provide one-seat rides between downtown Miami and the West Palm Beach area, stopping at various locations up and down the coast. Hopefully, the up-to-speed PTC systems will be installed quickly to keep Floridians safe and prevent the delay from stretching out for too much longer.