Mandate for Safety Technology May Halt VRE Trains

The Virginia Railway Express is warning that it will have to stop running at least some of its commuter trains by the end of the year if Congress doesn’t extend the deadline to install new crash prevention gear.

A federal law passed in 2008 requires all passenger rail services and freight trains carrying certain hazardous materials to have Positive Train Control (PTC) operational by Dec. 31. According to VRE, PTC is a set of technologies designed to automatically stop a train before accidents, such as colliding with another train or derailments caused by excessive speed.

VRE is spending $10.5 million on PTC, installing computers and radio equipment on its locomotives and cab cars, radio station WTOP reported Wednesday. The commuter rail service expects to complete the work by the end of the year.

But in a statement Wednesday, VRE CEO Doug Allen called on Congress to extend the deadline. “Safety is VRE’s top priority and we are fully committed to implementing PTC,” he said. “Despite the hard work and dedication by all involved, more time is needed.”

VRE said it received official notification Tuesday from Norfolk Southern Railway, one of its two host railroads, that PTC will not be fully operational on that railroad by the deadline. Therefofre, VRE’s Manassas Line passenger trains will not be permitted to operate on Norfolk Southern tracks after Dec. 31.

PTC work on tracks owned by CSX, VRE’s other host railroad, also will not meet the Dec. 31 deadline, VRE said. Commuter trains on VRE’s Fredericksburg Line run on CSX tracks from that city to Washington, D.C., and the commuter system said service on that line will likely be suspended by the end of the year.

VRE says it already has technologies that limit train speeds by engaging automatic braking if a train exceeds maximum authorized limits.

The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and Potomac & Rappahannock Transportation Commissions, the owners of VRE, are scheduled to consider this issue at their Nov. 5 meetings. For more information, please click here.